


Operation: E.P.I.T.H.E.T.

by CosmicCove



Category: Codename: Kids Next Door, Epithet Erased (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Crossover, Fanny has an Epithet, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friend Fluff, Friendship, Friendship tags are just the main ones, Giovanni. Sylvie. and Sector W to appear later, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kuki has an epithet, Molly gets everything she deserves :Pleading:, Multi, Neurodivergent Kuki, Neurodivergent Molly, Neurodivergent Wally, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, at least in the main cast they are, everyone is friends with everyone - Freeform, nd molly wasn't intended but nd is all i knoooow, neurodivergent characters, this fic is my current coping mechanism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:06:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27637943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmicCove/pseuds/CosmicCove
Summary: Molly Blyndeff is so sick of having to do everything for her family.  Despite her fear of leaving, Molly wants nothing more than to walk away from her father's negligence and be happy with her friends.  After a visit to the candy store goes wrong, Molly, Phoenica, and Trixie find themselves a part of the Kids Next Door organization.  Although there's only half a year left before her thirteenth birthday, Molly hopes to make the best of her time in Sector V.
Relationships: Lee | Numbuh 84/Sonia | Sonya | Numbuh 83, Molly Blyndeff & Abigail Lincoln | Numbuh 5, Molly Blyndeff & Bellatrix "Trixie" Roughhouse, Molly Blyndeff & Nigel Uno | Numbuh 1, Molly Blyndeff & Phoenica "Feenie" Fleecity XV, Molly Blyndeff & Phoenica "Feenie" Fleecity XV & Bellatrix "Trixie" Roughhouse, Phoenica "Feenie" Felicity & Sonia | Sonya | Numbuh 86, Phoenica "Feenie" Fleecity & Kuki Sanban | Numbuh 3, Phoenica "Feenie" Fleecity XV & Bellatrix "Trixie" Roughhouse, Sector V is all friends ofc, Wallabee Beetles & Bellatrix "Trixie" Roughhouse, Wallabee Beetles/Kuki Sanban
Comments: 17
Kudos: 16





	1. Kids Fight Pirates in A Wal-Mart

**Author's Note:**

> I'm hyperfixating on KND right now, but I also really love Epithet Erased, and it's been on my mind a lot recently because it's anniversary just passed. I couldn't stop thinking on Molly being saved from her dad by the Kids Next Door, and this is the product of that.
> 
> This fic mentions Molly's pet from Anime Campaign. Not at all a spoiler but I can't remember if Jello confirmed him to be in EE or not already.
> 
> Fic takes place during the Redwood Run arc of Epithet Erased, and before the events of Operation: Z.E.R.O. This fic is probably easy enough to read if your only familiar with one of the source materials as well.
> 
> **Operation: E.P.I.T.H.E.T.**
> 
> **Everyone**
> 
> **Proves**
> 
> **It's**
> 
> **Terrific**
> 
> **Helping**
> 
> **Everyone**
> 
> **Together**  
> 

Molly opened up the fridge to find a single bottle of catsup and an empty carrot bag. Molly sighed, not surprised. She wondered out of the kitchen and into her father's workshop. "Dad, we're out of food. Again." 

"HuH? What'd you say Molly?" Martin asked, not listening any harder than he had been when she walked in. 

"We need groceries," She repeated. 

Martin hummed, "Mhm, that's nice." 

"Dad!" Molly snapped, "Groceries!" 

"That's very interesting," he replied, pretending he was listening, "But you know, I'm very busy right now. Go play with your friends." 

"We need to buy food!" Molly yelled, "We have nothing to eat! I didn't eat breakfast, and now it's lunchtime and I'm hungry!" 

"Buy? You want money?" he asked. He pulled out a couple twenty dollar bills. "Here. Go get something fun and leave me alone." 

Molly huffed, but nevertheless took the money and left her father to his workspace. She pulled out her phone. Trixie and Phoenica were well aware of her home situation, and had devised a sort-of buddy system. Whenever Molly had to go out to get something, she texted them and they went together. 

After an excruciating, hunger pang filled, five-minute wait, the two girls waved at her from behind the glass windows of the Blyndeff Toy Emporium. Molly burst out the doors at the sight of her friends. "Trixie! Phoenica!" Molly exclaimed, giving each of her friends a hug as she said their names. 

"It's lovely to see you, dear," Phoenica cooed. She was holding a parasol over her head, as she always did if there was even the slightest sun. 

"Hi Molly," Trixie greeted. 

"Oh my God, you guys, I am so hungry!" Molly complained with a nervous laugh. 

"I thought you might be." Trixie produced an apple from her hoodie pocket. 

Molly snatched it up and took a huge bite, savoring the juice saturating her mouth and the crunch it made when she chewed. In between bites, she gasped, "I owe you one, Trix!" 

"It's no big deal," Trixie shrugged, "The only one who even likes apples in my house is Dixon, and he'd blame alien ants for stealing his food before he'd even consider it could have been me." 

Molly finished scarfing down the apple, core and all, and began to lead her friends to the grocery store. "There were these kids in the store the other day. They were very odd," Molly told her friends, "One was a girl with blonde hair, and the other was a boy I think. Anyways, this boy was showing us these cool yo-yo tricks- he had a yo-yo epithet -And it was super cool! But then he gets this phone call, and his phone looks very weird, like he made it himself or something, and he answers his phone and he said something like 'cool it 363,' and then he and the girl just bolted out of the store!" 

"That is bizarre," Trixie agreed, "You know, something strange was happening the other day at my house, too. It's not as strange as that, though. I was talking with Xerxes, and he was reminiscing about some friends of his that I never met, and he said something like, 'I wonder if they ever plan to come to you,' and I was all 'Xerxes, what are you talking about?' He refused to tell me more. It was like he just realized what he said. Anyways, it was a little creepy." 

"Your lives are very strange," Phoenica hummed, "I've never had anything like that happen to me." 

Molly and her friends stopped, now standing outside of a huge store. "Finally. Groceries," Molly mumbled dreamily. 

"Maybe next time there's no food in the house, you should come over to my house and eat lunch before you go shopping," Phoenica suggested. 

As she walked through the doors, Molly replied, "I don't want to bother you." 

Phoenica shook her head, "You're not a bother at all!" She still had her Parasol open within the store. 

"Yeah, it bothers me more when you don't eat," Trixie added. 

"Okay, okay," Molly sighed with a tired smile, "Next time we'll eat first." 

"Hey, isn't this the grocery store with the candy store inside of it?" Trixie asked. 

"There's also a Subway inside of here," Phoenica pointed out helpfully. Trixie and Molly stared at her incredulously. Phoenica continued, "Molly needs lunch." 

"If there's any money left after shopping," Molly decided. 

"No," Phoenica insisted, "I'll pay." 

Molly opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again as her stomach growled. There's no point trying to argue with a rich girl about money, anyways. 

Trixie grinned, "And I'll get us candy afterwards!" 

"Alright!" Molly and Feenie laughed. 

* * *

A town over from Sweet Jazz City, five children sat in a large treehouse. Wally sat seething with annoyance as Kuki played with one of her rainbow monkeys. "Blue- No green! Wait, maybe purple! Nope, blue again!" she spoke to no one in particular as she changed its color over and over again.

Wally growled, "Either make up your mind or stop playing with your epithet!" 

"Okay, orange!" Kuki decided. 

"Aw, don't worry about him Numbuh 3," Abby sighed, "He's just jealous 'cause he's a mundie." 

"Am not! I'm proud to be a mundie!" Wally declared, pointing to himself and puffing out his chest. He then shot a finger towards the rainbow monkey. "It's just that the changing colors give me a headache." 

"Mhm," Abby dismissed. 

Hoagie defended, "I dunno guys, I think that Wally's telling the truth. Bright colors changing in quick succession _can_ give people headaches." 

"Sorry Wally!" Kuki called over to him. 

Wally sighed. "It's alright Numbuh 3. You didn't mean to." 

Kuki scooched across the couch to give him a hug. Wally laughed nervously and blushed. 

"Okay, if you keep that up people are gonna think you two are boyfriend 'n girlfriend," Abby teased. 

Wally's blush deepened, but Kuki waved Abby's words away with one hand while keeping the other wrapped around Wally. "Oh Numbuh 5," she laughed, "Friends can hug! There's nothing wrong with it!" Just then, the conversation was interrupted by Nigel, who had just ran into the room. "Stand at attention, team. We're about to have an incoming transmission from moonbase." 

As if by magic, the screen in front of the five Kids Next Door operatives flickered to life. Fanny was the one to deliver their mission this time. "Sector V, you have been assigned a mission in Sweet Jazz City. It's not too far, so you should make it there in a few hours," She explained, "Your mission is to stop an attack on a local candy store. The candy is located inside of a grocery store-" 

"Why?" Wally wondered. 

Hoagie answered, "Sometimes businesses open a spot inside of shopping centers because there's a lot of people that go to those places, and it makes it more likely for people to stop by-" 

"Don't interrupt me!" Fanny yelled, her voice uncomfortably loud. Every member of Sector V clamped their hands over their ears. 

"No need to use your epithet, girl!" Abby complained, "He was just curious." 

"And he's an idiot!" Fanny huffed in a normal yelling voice. 

"Can't really argue with that," Abby agreed. 

"Hey!" Wally exclaimed. 

"Anyways, I'm sending you the coordinates now, Numbuh 5," Fanny continued, "We've received word that Stickybeard has planned an attack on the candy store. We need you to stop him. Numbuh 86, out!" The screen zipped back to being black and blank. 

"Stickybeard," Abby hissed. Her 2x4 phone pinged, and she opened the message, which contained the coordinates that Fanny had sent her. Abby shook her head as she forwarded the coordinates to Nigel. She couldn't understand Fanny most days. She should be able to acknowledge that Nigel was the leader of Sector V even with her strong disdain for boys. 

"Say Numbuh 1," Hoagie asked, "How did you know a transmission was coming?" 

"Oh, I was just on the phone with Rachel," Nigel admitted shyly, "She told me." 

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I cannot wait to face off against Stickybeard again," Abby cheered. 

"I cannot wait to start punching people!" Wally added. 

Kuki joined in, "I'm going to change his candy canes to a slightly deeper shade of red!" The other four gave her a strange look. "What?" 

"I'm excited! I made us a new plane to try out," Hoagie informed the others. The rest of his team let out an "Oo!" 

The new plane in question was really an old, scrapped Jeep he had found in a garbage dump, repainted, and added thrusters and sheet metal wings to. He had made the car more durable by reinforcing the windows and tires, as well as implanting 2x4 tech guns into it. It was compact, but fast, and had just enough seats for all five members of Sector V to fit comfortably in. "I call it the J.E.E.P.E.R.," Hoagie introduced his invention. 

"What does J.E.E.P.E.R stand for?" Nigel asked. 

"Jet Engine Equipment Propels Eager Riders," Hoagie replied. 

"This baby can fly so fast, it probably will take a little less than an hour to get there!" Hoagie bragged. 

"Even so, I hope you are all prepared for a long ride," Nigel told his team. 

Kuki hugged her rainbow monkey tight to her, its fur changing from orange to cyan. "I'm ready!" 

Abby pulled out an MP3 player, and popped the headphones into her ears. Wally smoothed out the ruffled corners of a couple of comic books. "I guess you guys are all ready," Nigel shrugged, pulling out a book of his own. Hoagie started the engine, and they were off on their long flight. 

* * *

Having finished buying her groceries, Molly, along with Phoenica and Trixie, was seated in Subway. "My goodness! Do I need to buy you another sandwich?" Phoenica asked from under her parasol as she watched Molly tear into her turkey sub voraciously. "No, one is enough," Molly insisted through a full mouth. Trixie sipped a cola and Phoenica nibbled upon chips as Molly devoured her sandwich.

"I keep telling you that you need to leave your home," Trixie mumbled. 

"Yes, Bellatrix is right, dear," Phoenica supported, "You should come live with me!" 

"But what about my dad? And my sister?" Molly asked. 

Trixie pointed out, "What about you?" 

Molly shrugged, and continued to eat. She shoved the last of her sandwich into her mouth, and stood up, dusting off her hands and brushing crumbs off of her bear hoodie. 

"I hope you still have room for candy!" Trixie cheered. 

"Always!" Molly called. 

Phoenica chimed, "I also have room for candy." 

The trio wandered across the store. There, they found it: The Candy Outlet. Immediately, Molly snatched up a bag of assorted gummy bears. Trixie was torn between rock candy and some sort of hard candy that was advertised to glow in the dark. After a moment of indecision, she grabbed the rock candy. Phoenica picked out a small case of colorful mint squares. 

"Do you guys want to get sodas also?" Phoenica asked, "I'll chip in for some of them." 

"Sure!" Trixie chirped. Molly picked out a bottle of rootbeer, Trixie chose a can of blueberry soda, and Phoenica decided on huckleberry soda. "I've never heard of such a thing before," Phoenica marveled. 

"You've… Never heard of huckleberry before?" Trixie could hardly believe what she was hearing. "Feenie, you are about to experience greatness. We have to go up and pay so Phoenica can try this soda right now!" 

The three approached the counter and placed their candy and soda upon it. The clerk smiled at the girls as he rang up their things. He handed them back their candy and soda in a bag. Trixie immediately handed Phonica her huckleberry soda. "Drink it!" Trixie commanded. 

Phoenica took the soda, opened the bottle, and sipped it. "Oh! It's so sweet!" she cooed. 

"It's one of the very best flavors out there," Trixie agreed. 

Suddenly, there was a loud boom as the wall was burst through. Jawbreakers of all sizes spilled out of shattered glass jars and rolled across the ground. Molly clasped her hands over ears and squeezed her eyes shut as a chorus of cheers rang up from the hole in the wall. Finally, she dared to glance up at the perpetrators. Phoenica and Trixie were also staring wide-eyed at the hole. 

Trixie gaped, "Is that a-" 

"Pirate ship?" They all wondered in unison. 

"Arg! Plunder this shoppe of all it's candy, and don't pay a cent!" the captain announced. 

"Why are you doing this to my wonderful store!" the store clerk cried. 

"Why? Don't you know who I am?" the captain laughed, "I'm Stickybeard, and this be me ship, the Sweet Revenge, and me crew, the candy pirates!" 

Trixie, Molly, and Phoenica were dumbfounded. Trixie was the only one to speak, and the only thing she could think to say is, "How did you get a ship this far inland!" 

"I've met many in my travels. One such person I met was able to imbue the Sweet Revenge with their epithet," Stickybeard explained, "But that's not important. What's important is that you children have candy, and I will be taking it!" 

"Trixie paid for this candy you bully!" Phoenica screamed. 

Stickybeard roared with laughter. "You think that will stop me?" 

"Maybe," Phoenica admitted. 

"Feenie no!" Molly reprimanded, "Maybe we should just give these guys our candy." 

"Nu-uh!" Trixie firmly denied, "I'm not letting these pirates take my candy!" 

"You honestly think you can stop me kiddie?" Stickybeard scoffed. 

Trixie nodded. "Okay ghosts! You're always following me around and being very spooky! Be useful this time and attack Stickybeard!" Trixie announced. A beat passed, and nothing happened. "C'mon ghosts!" Trixie whined as the candy pirates erupted into laughter. 

"Let's just give them our candy you g-" Molly was cut off as the laughter of the candy pirates quickly devolved into confusion, and then just a quickly turned to angry shouting. 

"No need to give up your candy!" Cried out a voice, "The Kids Next Door are here!" In a flash, the pirates were clashing with five children- the Kids Next Door if Molly had to guess. 

Molly, Trixie, and Phoenica exchanged a look. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's fight!" Trixie cheered, dropping her bag of candy. 

"I suppose it would be nice to help out these Kids Next Door people, since they're helping us out and all," Molly agreed, lowering her bags as well. 

Phoenica smiled. "I'm always happy to help." 

Trixie pointed at the ship's anchor, which was planted into the linoleum floor of the candy store. "I think we can climb up that chain and get onto the ship." 

"Okay," Molly nodded. 

"What? Climb up?" Phoenica exclaimed. 

"C'mon Feenie." Trixie took Phoenica's hand, knocking her candy bag to the ground next to her's and Molly's, and dragged her over to the side of the ship. They all looked up at the anchor, which was striped red and white to resemble a candy cane. "I'll go first," Trixie told her friends. She took a hold of the anchor. "Ew, it's sticky!" she cringed, "Is this made of _actual_ candy cane?" With a shiver, she pulled herself up to the chain, and scurried up it like a squirrel, and rolled over the ship's railing onto the deck. She peaked her head over. "Come on!" she prompted. 

"I'll go next," Molly told Phoenica. 

"Be my guest," Phoenica nervously chuckled. 

Molly slowly but surely climbed up the anchor. Trixie pulled her onto the deck to join her. 

"You can do it Feenie!" Molly cheered her friend on. 

"Hey! It's you kids!" one of the candy pirates yelled at the pair. He threw a large jawbreaker at Molly and Trixie and screamed, "Scram!" 

Molly and Trixie ducked, and the jawbreaker sailed over their heads. "Gotta go!" Trixie yelled to Phoenica. She and Molly then ran off to face the candy pirate. 

"Okay Feenie, you can do this," Phoenica muttered to herself, folding up her parasol and tucking it under her arm. With wobbly legs, she grabbed the chain and pulled herself off the ground. She shook as she clung to the chain and inched up. "I'm doing it!" she breathed, "I'm really doing it!" 

Meanwhile on deck, Trixie and Molly had begun a showdown with the candy pirate. Trixie smirked; She finally had a use for the bike chain Xerxes had instructed her to carry around with her in case she ever needed to fight someone off. She charged at the pirate, pulling the bike chain out of her pocket and quickly wrapping it around her knuckles the way Xerxes had shown her to. She brought up her fist, and it made connection with the candy pirate's face before he could even process what Trixie was doing. The impact brought the pirate to the ground, and left behind a long, purple bruise on his cheek. Trixie grinned as she stared down at her handiwork. 

"'Ey Cap'in-!" The candy pirate warned. 

"Oh no you don't!" Molly hissed, marching up to him and hovering her hand over where he was lying. In an instant he was muted. 

"Yeah!" Trixie cheered, "I'm gonna keep fighting." 

"Okay," Molly nodded. She stole the bag of jawbreakers away from the disoriented pirate. Molly crossed her arms and sneered, "I'm armed and dangerous!" 

Trixie ran off, punching another candy pirate with her impromptu brass knuckles. The Pirate dropped to the ground just in time for her to see a boy in an orange hoodie knock out another pirate with just his fists. 

He turned to her. "Woah! I like your style kid!" he praised. 

"I like yours too," Trixie complimented. 

"What's your name?" he asked. 

"Bellatrix," She replied, "But everyone just calls me Trixie. What's yours?" 

"They call me Numbuh 4," Wally answered. 

"That's a strange nickname," Trixie commented. 

Suddenly, two more candy pirates jumped on either side of them. "Wanna fight these goons off with me?" Wally asked. 

"More than ever!" Trixie replied. The two began to pummel the pirates with their fists. 

Across the ship, Molly was chucking jawbreakers at the candy pirates. Many of her shots were dodged, and many more missed entirely. Still, there were a few jawbreakers that hit their targets with a satisfying crack. As she aimed another shot, she ran straight into a boy. His weapon clattered to the ground as he fell. 

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" Molly gasped, helping him to his feet. 

"it's not a problem at all," He shrugged, "I saw you in action, and you were doing really great out there. With a little training, you could be a valuable asset to our organization." 

"Your organization?" Molly asked. 

"Nevermind that," Nigel waved his hand, "My name is Numbuh 1. Yours?" 

"Your name is Numbuh 1?" Molly questioned, "Uh, and my name is Molly." 

"Well it's not my real name, but it's what I'm called," Nigel explained. He aimed his S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. behind him and pulled the trigger, which sent up a wooden board flying up into the face of a pirate that had been charging straight towards them. Nigel continued, "I take it you've never heard of the Kids Next Door?" 

"Not as an organization, no," Molly answered, chucking another jawbreaker at a passing candy pirate. The jawbreaker missed, but flew past him and slammed into the side of a different candy pirates head. "I meant to do that," Molly claimed to save face. 

"You're really good with those jawbreakers, Molly," Nigel noted, "We should get you some M.A.R.B.L.E.S. You'd be able to do some major damage with them." 

"M.A.R.B.L.E.S.?" Molly wondered. 

"One of our various weapons made with our 2x4 technology," Nigel told her, "That's our tech genius over there, in the blue shirt. He's Numbuh 2." Nigel pointed to Hoagie. 

"Oh. Cool." 

"If you're interested in the Kids Next Door, I'll tell you more after we defeat these pirates." 

"Okay," Molly agreed, and then went back to lobbing jawbreakers at candy pirates' heads. 

With the majority of the pirates down on the ground, Abby confronted Stickybeard. She pointed an accusatory finger at him and yelled, "Leave this candy store alone! The candy here belongs to it and it's customers!" 

"Aye, lassie, but pretty soon it will belong to me and me crew!" Stickybeard gloated. A saber made of candy cane materialized in his hand. He pointed the saber at Abby. "Ain't nobody but me gettin' that candy," he threatened. 

"Learn to share you crusty old man!" Kuki shouted, waving her hand in a small circle in Stickybeard's direction. 

"Aye!" Stickybeard cried. 

"What's wrong captain! What did she do to you?" called one of the pirates that was still standing. 

"Me saber!" he moped, "She turned the stripes to a slightly deeper shade of red!" 

Wally couldn't help but face-palm. Behind him, Trixie punched out the pirate that had just been talking to Stickybeard- the last of the candy pirates. 

Molly, Trixie, Nigel, Hoagie, and Wally all ran over to face-off against Stickybeard with Abby and Kuki. "You're surrounded, Stickybeard!" Nigel shouted, "Stand down!" 

Stickybeard tutted, "You foolish children. I have you right where I want you." Before anyone could react, he whipped out a rope of licorice and managed to jump up and lasso all seven of the kids, tying them up in one place. 

Over by the ship's railing, Phoenica had finally pulled herself over the railing of the Sweet Revenge. She wiped her brow of sweat and dusted off her lovely, pink dress. She settled her parasol over her, and prepared herself to fight. "Who wants some," she peeped, looking around for a foe to fight. She found that the deck was littered with candy pirates that had various head wounds from jawbreakers, fists, and S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R.S. 

She spotted her friends and the Kids Next Door operatives tied up with Stickybeard guffawing over them. This filled Phoenica with a rage she had never felt in the entirety of her young life. It's the righteous kind of anger that fills one quickly and intensely and engulfs them in heat. This Stickybeard fellow was quite rude! Phoenica folded up her parasol; she meant business now. 

Stickybeard stood over the captured children. "Ho ho! Wait until me crew comes to! They won't believe their eyes. _I_ don't believe me eyes! I finally caught the Kids Next Door! And with their accomplices, no less!" 

The fearful yet determined faces of the seven tied-up children turned to hopeful as they noticed the last of them still standing behind Stickybeard, and charging. "You can do it, Phoenica!" trixie whispered a cheer. 

"You stay away from my friends you big bully!" Phoenica shrieked as she leaped up into the air and banished her parasol like a baseball bat. 

"What the-" Stickybeard began to exclaim as he turned, noticing Phoenica. But it was too late. Phoenica's parasol slammed into Stickybeard's skull with a smack. He fell straight to the floor like all of his crew had before him. 

"I do hope his hospital bill isn't too big," Phoenica hummed as she stared at his unconscious body. She turned to her friends. "I suppose that's not the problem," she grinned, "Let me untie you poor things." 

"I'm not a poor thing," Wally grumbled. 

"I hear you," Trixie nodded, frowning in annoyance over Phoenica's words. 

"What was that guy's problem?" Molly wondered as the ropes fell away from her. 

"That was Stickybeard, though I'm sure he told you that already," Abby explained, "He views all candy lovers as his competitors, and can't bear the idea of any other people besides him and his crew having their own candy." 

"Yeah! He's a terrible sharer!" Kuki complained. 

Trixie asked, "He's inscribed, right? That sword-thing materialized out of thin air." 

"Yep," Wally answered. 

"Candy cane," Nigel added, "He can summon anything as long as it's made out of candy cane. He usually makes it peppermint." 

"That explains the anchor," Trixie noted. 

"What about you?" Wally asked, "Are you inscribed Trixie?" 

"Nope!" She replied, "But a few of my siblings are." 

Molly shyly commented, "I am." 

"Oh cool!" Kuki cheered, approaching Molly, "I am too! Look!" She pulled out her rainbow monkey and turned it all sorts of colors before her eyes. 

"Oh! You like rainbow monkeys too?" Phoenica exclaimed, "You should see my collection!" 

"You should see _my_ collection!" Kuki jumped up and down with excitement. 

Wally scoffed. He leaned over to Trixie and whispered, "Rainbow monkeys, more like rainbow dork-keys, am I right?" 

"Uh, y- yeah!" Trixie stammered, "Real dumb." 

"See? This kid gets me!" Wally pointed a finger towards Trixie. 

Nigel sighed. He turned to Molly. "Well, now that the fight is over, let's get out of here, and I'll tell you and your friends more about the Kids Next Door organization." 

Hoagie sighed, "I'll move the J.E.E.P.E.R." He began the trek to the other side of the ship where his new plane was parked. Everybody else climbed off the ship and ran out of the store, Trixie, Phoenica, and Molly picking up their bags of candy and the groceries from where they'd dropped them on their way out. Five minutes later, Hoagie rejoined them, having parked the J.E.E.P.E.R. somewhere in the parking lot. 

"Now, let's properly introduce ourselves. I'm Numbuh 1, and this is my team." He gestured to the rest of Sector V. 

"I'm Numbuh 2!" 

"I'm Numbuh 3!" 

"I'm Numbuh 4!" 

"And I'm Numbuh 5!" 

As each operative introduced themself, they posed holding up their fingers to represent their numbers. 

"Uh, well! We don't have cool codenames like you guys do, but I'm Molly, and these are my friends." 

"I'm Trixie," She posed with a wink and a peace sign. 

Phoenica curtsied, "And I'm Phoenica. My friends refer to me as Feenie, though." 

"It's nice to meet you, Molly, Trixie, Feenie," Nigel greeted, "We are in the Kids Next door, a top-secret, elite organization made up of kids under the age of thirteen, and we fight against adult tyranny. I think you three would make for excellent recruits. What do you say?" 

"You can come live in our cool treehouse with us if you want," Hoagie tempted 

There were almost more stars in Molly's eyes than in her hair as she thought about it. Her? Being a kid secret agent? It gave her butterflies to think about. Then, reality shattered her fantasy. "I have to get home. I have to take care of my family." She gestured to her bag of groceries. 

"Your family made you, a ten year old, buy groceries for them?" Abby asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"I'm twelve, but yeah." 

"We're all twelve," Phoenica added. 

Nigel's eyes went wide. "You don't have much time left! You'll be thirteen in no time!" 

"What do you mean?" Trixie asked. 

With a frown, Wally explained, "You can't be in the Kids Next Door if your a teenager; you're not a kid anymore. 

"Oh." 

A hopeless look crossed Molly's face the more she thought about it. 

"We can still make a difference in the time we have left," Trixie decided, "Besides, I think it'd be best for you to go with them, don't you think?" 

"But my family-" 

"Your family sucks, okay?" Trixie yelled, "This is a great opportunity for you! So take it! I know I am!" 

Wally's eyes went wide, "So you'll join, Trixie?" 

"Yeah!" cheered Trixie, "You guys are so cool!" 

"Yes! Trixie's gonna be my new best friend!" Wally bragged. Trixie laughed. 

Abby looked at Molly with soft eyes. "Bad situation at home?" she asked gently. 

Molly nodded. "I just worry about what will happen to my dad and sister without me." 

"What will happen to you if you stay with them?" Nigel asked. 

Molly relayed the question in her mind over and over. The fantasies of grandiose as a super-cool secret agent, at least for half of a glorious year, filled her mind once again. "I don't want to go back home!" Molly yelled, "I want to go with you guys and join the Kids Next Door!" 

Everybody cheered for Molly. Trixie and Phoenica ran to her and embraced her. "Way to go, Molly!" Nigel praised her. 

Turning to sector V, Phoenica asked, "May I also join?" 

"Of course! After you took down Stickybeard like that? It would be silly not to recruit you," Abby answered. 

Kuki agreed, "The more the merrier!" 

"Thank you very much," Phoenica curtsied once again. 

"Since you are all twelve, we cannot put you into the Cadets Next Door program for training. However, tomorrow we'll send you to Moonbase for a quick commissioning party, and make you official Kids Next Door operatives. You'll choose your numbuhs, and be assigned a sector," Nigel informed them, "Hoagie will pick Phoenica and Trixie up tomorrow with the J.E.E.P.E.R. Molly, you come back to the treehouse with us tonight." 

"Yes sir!" the three girls replied in unison. 

Trixie leaned over to Wally, "Did he say Moonbase?" 

"Yeah," Wally whispered back, "It's a gihugic treehouse on the moon." 

"A treehouse on the moon!" Trixie shouted. 

" _A treehouse on the moon!_ " Phoenica and Molly echoed. 

"Sh, do you want to tell everyone in the area?" Hoagie hissed, "The Moonbase is **top secret!** " 

"Sorry!" Molly whispered back, "Also, what's the J.E.E.P.E.R.?" 

Hoagie laughed, returning to his normal voice, "Only the latest in Kids Next Door vehicular technology, invented by yours truly." 

"Do you need to stop by your house to get anything? A change of clothes?" Abby asked Molly, "Maybe say your goodbyes?" 

"Yeah, I'd like that," Molly answered, "I also want to get this food into the kitchen." She lifted the bag of groceries in her hand to make a point. 

"We'll drive you back to your place, then," Nigel promised. 

Hoagie called to Phoenica and Trixie, "Do you two need a ride home too?" 

"No, our homes are within walking distance," Phoenica replied with a small wave. 

Trixie added, "Thanks though!" Then to Wally, she said, "Bye, numbuh 4." 

"See you tomorrow," he smiled. 

Phoenica left the group with a dainty wave of her hands. Trixie left after her, walking backwards a few steps with her hands in the air holding up two peace signs. "Peace out!" she yelled, before turning around and running to join Phoenica who had gotten significantly in front of her. 

"Bye, guys!" Molly shouted after them with a small smile. 

Nigel turned to Molly. "Shall we?" he asked. 

Molly nodded, "Mhm. I'm ready." 

Hoagie guided them over to where he parked the J.E.E.P.E.R. "Woah! That's an actual airplane!" Molly gasped, "I thought it was going to be a car or something." 

Hoagie put a hand over his heart as if insulted, "Everyone knows that I'm an airborne kind of guy!" 

Molly giggled, "Okay!" 

"Now, there really aren't enough seats to fit you, but that's okay. We'll make Numbuh 4 sit on the floor," Hoagie told Molly. 

Wally yelled out a drawn-out and exasperated, "Hey!" 

Despite Wally's protests, he was forced to sit on the floor while Hoagie piloted, with Nigel sitting shotgun, and Molly in the backseat squeezed in between Kuki and Abby, who both seemed very excited to have another girl to speak to. In a few minutes, they were at the toy store. 

"Hey! I know this place!" Kuki yelled when she saw the Blyndeff Toy Emporium, "I got my glow-in-the-dark rainbow monkey here!" 

"You live in a toy store?" Wally gasped, "Why would you ever want to live." 

"I don't just live there, I work there," Molly mumbled. 

Everyone in the plane went silent. "Work?" Abby asked, "Aren't there laws against that?" 

"Probably," Molly shrugged. 

Wally grimaced, "I think I understand why you want to leave now." 

"I'll be right back," Molly told them as she hopped out of the J.E.E.P.E.R. She wandered back into her home, or ex-home as she instantly wished to regard it. "Dad? Lorelai?" she called out. No reply, which meant so Martin was still cooped up in his workshop, and Lorelai still wasn't home. Lorelai was almost never home, and Molly couldn't blame her, and even if she did, she couldn't blame her now without being a hypocrite. 

Molly plopped the three bags of groceries onto the counter, and took her fourth bag, with her gummy bears and root beer, with her. She walked up the stairs to her room. She opened her closet and pulled out five outfits. She pulled out a suitcase that was also within her closet and stuffed her clothes into it. She also nabbed one of her many teddy bears and added it to the bag, then zipped it closed. She crossed the room and stopped in front of a cage. She picked it up gently and a squeaking sounded from within. "C'mon Glimcrack, we have to go." 

Molly strutted out of the store, rolling a suitcase behind her and holding onto her pet rat's cage. "I hope there's room for everything," Molly chuckled nervously as she approached the J.E.E.P.E.R. 

"Don't worry, Molly, we'll make room," Nigel told her. 

"It's part of our job to help kids like you out of their cruddy homes," Wally added. 

"Exactly!" Hoagie agreed. 

Kuki glanced over at the cage Molly was holding. "Ooh! What's in there?" kuki wondered, "Is it a hamster? We have lots of hamsters!" 

Molly shook her head. "It's Glimcrack, my pet rat." 

"A rat! Cool!" Wally exclaimed. 

"Adorable!" Kuki cooed. 

Hoagie added, "Very intelligent animals." 

"Nasty," Abby disagreed, wrinkling her nose. 

Molly laughed, "Howie thinks so too. He said I should keep bees instead." 

"No way, keep the rat!" Wally encouraged. 

"I wasn't going to get rid of Glimcrack anyways," Molly shrugged. 

"No matter what you think about Glimcrack, he's staying," Nigel told the group, "I'm not very fond of rats myself." 

Molly sat back down between Kuki and Abby, smiling with content as Hoagie lifted the J.E.E.P.E.R. back into the sky. Her bag was on the floor, slightly squishing Wally, who was running out of room. She closed her eyes as they began to sting from tears that had welled up from the relief of leaving behind her family for a new family that was better for her. Things could only get better for the next half a year before her thirteenth birthday, and she was ready for it. She began to doze off, both from how calm she felt and from how tired she was after fighting off Stickybeard and his candy pirate crew. Her dreams were filled with wonderful stories of kid spies and secret agents, of large treehouses on the moon and marvelous inventions constructed of toys, and of dangerous yet fun missions with her friends.


	2. You Never Forget Your First Visit to the Kids Next Door Moonbase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly, Phoenica, and Trixie get commissioned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I learned in between writing these chapters that Trixie is nonbinary, which is awesome! I was unaware because I don't really watch Jello's live streams because they don't get posted to Youtube (as far as I'm aware). She's still going to use she/her pronouns in my story because she uses those as well as they/them, but I went back and changed any feminine wording used for her used in the first chapter, and this chapter was written without calling Trixie a girl at all. I only thought she was a girl because she was in the original series that EE is based on I hope you all understand. ^^

"Molly…" Called a gentle voice as Molly felt herself get shoved slightly, "Molly…" 

Molly's eyes peaked open. She blinked in confusion- wasn't she just on a super cool mission on the moon? No, it had been a dream. Had it all been a dream: Stickybeard, the Kids Next Door, leaving her home? 

"We're at the treehouse silly," Abby told her. 

No, it hadn't been a dream, and Molly smiled as she realized this. She rubbed her tired eyes and hopped out the J.E.E.P.E.R., clutching Glimcrack's cage. "Wow!" Molly breathed, looking up at the treehouse; she had never seen such a large structure before, much less lived in one. They had landed on one of the many hangar decks outside of the treehouse, and it revealed much to be beheld. Molly practically glowed with excitement and admiration. 

"It's pretty cool, isn't it?" Nigel asked with a chuckle. 

Molly replied, "It's amazing! I can't believe I get to live here!" 

"Now Molly," Nigel informed her, "We don't exactly have a room for you yet, so you'll have to bunk with someone for the time being." 

"Oh! Oh!" Kuki raised her hand and jumped up and down, "Pick me Molly! Bunk with me! Me, me, me!" 

Abby leaned over and whispered, "Just between us, Numbuh 3 is the only one with a bedtime. It's self-imposed, of course. She goes to sleep at 9:30 every night. That's just when she gets tired. If you don't want to stay up all night sometimes I'd advise that you actually room with her." 

Molly grinned. "Sure, Numbuh 3, I'd love to bunk with you." 

"Yippee!" Kuki cheered, "We're going to have so much fun! I'm going to show you all of my stuffed animals and we can draw together! It's going to be so much fun!" 

Molly giggled. She couldn't believe this was actually happening. 

Kuki took Molly's hand. "C'mon!" Kuki yelled, "I'll show you my room!" 

Kuki pulled Molly through the treehouse so quickly Molly had hardly any time to scope out the place. She did notice the large screen in the main room, though. "Woah! That's the biggest TV I've ever seen!" She cried as she passed. 

Finally, Kuki yanked Molly through the door to her room. "Look! Isn't it sweet?" Kuki asked. 

Molly gasped when she saw Kuki's room. There were mountains of stuffed animals, most of them rainbow monkeys. The places where the floor was clear of stuffed animals had toys scattered about. The walls were decorated with all sorts of drawings scribbled in crayon. There was a desk, with mounds of toys and stuffed animals leaning against it, pushed against a wall, with a large stack of paper resting unsteadily atop, surrounded by crayons. 

"This is like a wonderland!" Molly exclaimed. 

Kuki flopped down into a beanbag chair, and flickered the color from red to purple for the fun of it. "Thank you!" Kuki hummed in a sing-song voice. 

"May I put Glimcrack on your desk for now?" Molly asked, "I promise that he won't chew up anything." 

"Of course!" Kuki consented. 

Molly placed Glimcrack's cage on the desk, then sat down on the ground next to Kuki. As she did, she noticed a rainbow monkey wearing a trench coat. It was a beautiful shade of chartreuse. "Is that the Rainbow Monkey Sleuth?" Molly asked, pointing, a gleeful smile on her face, "I thought those only came in the basic ROYGBIV colors!" 

"They did," Kuki bragged, "But I changed it!" 

"Oh yeah, you have an epithet," Molly remembered, "Color or something." 

**Kuki Sanban**

**Epithet: Color**

**Stamina: ★★★★**

**Proficiency: ★★**

**Creativity: ★★★★★**

Kuki put a hand over her mouth. "How'd you guess?" 

Molly gasped, "I'm sorry! I didn't think it was actually color! I just knew it had something to do with it!" 

"It's okay," Kuki assured her, holding out the last syllable of her statement. 

"You aren't mad?" Molly asked. 

"Mad?" Kuki laughed, "I'm happy that you know! This is going to strengthen our friendship 'n stuff!" 

"Oh. Well in that case, I think it's only fair to tell you my epithet." 

"Oo, really?" Kuki squealed, "Oh my gosh, secrets time!" 

"My epithet is- okay first you have to promise not to laugh," Molly told her. 

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Kuki swore. 

"Okay. My epithet is dumb." 

"What does that do?" Kuki asked. 

"Oh." Molly was impressed that Kuki didn't laugh in spite of her promise. "I dumb things down. I can make things hurt less, and I can make things quieter." 

Kuki giggled, "You're like Numbuh 86's opposite!" 

"Who's that?" Molly asked. 

"Numbuh 86 is one of my friends. She's the head of decommissioning," Kuki explained, "She can yell really loud. I mean, it's not like she didn't yell before her epiphany, but you know…" 

"I know what you mean," Molly nodded, "I was a pretty quiet kid even before I discovered my epithet." 

"And I like colorful things before I discovered my color epithet," Kuki added. 

"It's funny how that works," Molly commented, "I mean, it makes sense, but it's still kind of funny." 

Kuki hummed in agreement. "Hey Molly, do you like to draw with crayons?" Kuki asked, jumping up with enthusiasm, and crossing to her desk to grab a handful of crayons and some paper. 

"Yeah! Me and my friend Sylvie draw together all the time!" Molly answered. 

"Oh? Who's Sylvie?" Kuki asked, "Could he join us too?" 

"Oh no, Sylvie's too old to join the Kids Next Door," Molly replied. 

"Wait a minute," Kuki lowered her voice, "Molly, are you friends with a _teenager?_ " 

"Uh. Yes? Is that bad?" Molly tapped her fingers against the floor nervously. 

"I guess not," Kuki shrugged, "Not all teenagers are big meanies. Still, you probably don't want to tell other people about that." 

"Oh! Oh no!" Molly sighed. 

Kuki put a calming hand on Molly's shoulder. "Don't worry! You're secret's safe with me!" 

Molly smiled in relief at Kuki. "Thanks Numbuh 3." 

"How about we change the subject," Kuki suggested, returning to her beanbag and passing most of the crayons and some paper to Molly. 

"You're only using one crayon?" Molly asked her, "And it's… White?" 

"One crayon is all I need," Kuki reminded her, swapping the white for pink. 

"Oh yeah!" Molly remembered. 

"So, have you a number picked out for you commissioning tomorrow?" Kuki wondered. 

"Well, you guys are one through five, right? Why don't I just be six?" 

"Bradley's six," Kuki informed her. 

"Oh. I don't know who that is." 

"He's the skunk Numbuh 2 and I adopted!" She explained. 

"Oh. Well, is seven taken?" 

Kuki shook her head. 

"Seven it is!" Molly decided. 

Kuki grinned, "I think you're going to make a great Numbuh 7, Molly!" 

Molly smiled back, "Thanks Numbuh 3." She began to draw on the sheet of paper in front of her, brown to make a bear. _I wonder what Trixie and Feenie are going to choose for their numbers,_ Molly thought. 

* * *

"Trixie. Trixie. Trix!" Called Xerxes next to his little sibling. 

"Hmm? What?" Trixie yelped, knocked back out of a daydream. 

Xerxes sighed, "Trixie, what's up? You've been distant all night." 

Trixie shrugged. "I'm just distracted is all. I'm a dreamer, what can I say?" 

"Trixie, come on, I can tell when something's up." 

"Well, it's kinda secret." Trixie looked away from her brother. 

Xerxes put a hand on Trixie's shoulder. "You can tell me anything, sib. You know that." 

"Well. Okay, this is going to sound really crazy." Trixie took a deep breath. "So I was at the grocery store with Molly and Phoenica, the one with the Subway and the candy store. We went to the candy store, and while we were there, this… Pirate guy? Showed up and we had this big fight, and Molly used large jawbreakers as projectiles and I punched a guy with the bike chain brass knuckles you showed me!" 

"No way!" Xerxes exclaimed, and held up a hand for his younger sibling. 

She high-fived him and insisted, "Yes way!" She laughed. "So we're fighting these pirates and these kids are fighting with us, and there was this boy who liked to punch things. He was cool. Anyways, the five kids help us defeat the pirates, and Feenie took out the captain with her parasol like 'BOOSH!' and it was really, really awesome!" Trixie lowered her voice, "And here's when things get super secret." 

"I'm taking an oath of silence as we speak," Xerxes joked. 

Trixie giggled. "Okay, but this is seriously secret. I think i could get into a lot of trouble if anyone finds out I told you." 

Xerxes nodded. Despite how he occasionally joked, Xerxes was a serious man at heart, and right now, he was super serious. 

"So these five kids take us out of the store, and they tell us that they're in this top-secret organization called the Kids Next Door, and they asked us if we wanted to join, and I said yes, and tomorrow they are taking me to a moon treehouse to be commissioned. I'm very excited, but also nervous, and can't stop thinking about it, which is why I keep spacing out-" 

Xerxes quietly chuckled. 

"-And I- wait. Xerxes are you… _Laughing?_ " 

"They finally came for you, huh?" he asked grinning widely, "Four years later than I hoped, but they came for you!" 

"Wait a minute, were your old friends you were talking about the other day Kids Next Door operatives?" Trixie yelped. 

Xerxes' smile widened in a tell-tale fashion. 

"No way Xerxes! That's so cool!" Trixie cooed, "But wait, why weren't you decommissioned? You're not a kid anymore." 

Xerxes' face turned serious again. He put a hand on each of Trixie's shoulders and looked her dead in the eyes. "Listen, Trix. I can't tell you everything. All I can say is that I hope you play your cards right. Show them that you're very valuable. Then they won't get rid of you." 

"Okay," Trixie promised, although she did not fully understand him. 

"That a kid," Xerxes encouraged her, ruffling her hair, "You know, I'm very excited to be able to call you by your codename. Have you picked out a number yet?" 

"Yeah," Trixie answered, "I think I have the perfect one." 

* * *

Phoenica stared off into the milky twilight, leaning against the railing of her bedroom balcony. The last rays of sunset had just been hidden by the horizon, and stars were beginning to speckle the darkest parts of the sky. Phoenica sighed, a sign that melodrama was soon to follow. "Oh, woe is me," she cried, "For the sun has gone down, but I have not thought of the richest number!"

"Ma'am, once again, none of the numbers are the richest," Jeanine, her personal maid, huffed. 

"Oh, but I simply must come up with the perfect number for my ceremony tomorrow!" 

"And remind me again what this ceremony is?" 

Phoenica gasped, putting her hand across her head forehead like she might faint. "It is top-secret-" She clutched at her chest "-Not for the faint of heart!" 

"Whatever," Jeanine scowled, "Just take this. It's your allowance money for this week." 

"Thank you!" Phoenica cheered, running into the room and snatching the money from Jeanine (which was not at all lady-like), "Oh, sweet two thousand dollars! You fill my life with light!" She stared a moment at the money in her hands. A wide grin spread across Phoenica's face. "Miss Maid, I have had a revelation!" 

* * *

After a night of drawing their little hearts out, Kuki had fallen asleep on the paper at 9:30 on the dot, as Abby said she did, and Molly was soon to follow, albeit in her pajamas and in the bed after turning the lights out. Once again, Molly's dreams were full of daring missions and thrilling trips to the moon. She imagined the moonbase to be big and metallic and glowing with a blue aura. Molly felt very well rested when Kuki shook her awake at seven in the morning.

"it's time to go," Kuki prompted her, "Numbuh 2 is on his way back with Trixie and Feenie." 

Molly hopped up with joyful excitement. "Oh boy, I can't wait!" she cheered. 

"Get dressed and brush your hair, they're gonna be here any minute," Kuki informed her, "And when they do, we'll be heading to the moon!" 

Molly ran over to her suitcase and began to dig through it for the perfect outfit for the occasion. She had never been one for fashion, but joining the Kids Next Door had filled her with gusto, and a passion that she had forgotten she'd lost was rekindled within her soul. It was passion for feeling comfortable as she was, for taking a little more care of herself, for living life to the fullest. She found the dressiest outfit she had packed: a ruffled, turquoise shirt, a sparkly, black shirt, and white tights to go underneath. Once dressed, she pulled on her shoes, which had to be her yellow boots because they were the only shoes she had brought she realized with a bit of unease. She also pulled her bear hoodie on. She'd just take it off before the commissioning so that everyone could see her pretty shirt. 

Molly spun around and let her skirt flair up a bit. She giggled as she watched it. She couldn't wait to go to the moon; it seemed impossible. With that sudden thought she froze, and fell silent. _It seemed impossible._ Treehouses on the moon- that was impossible. Could she really be so gullible? She felt anxious despair start to set in. 

She lightly smacked her cheeks with her hands. "No, no Molly! Open your eyes!" she attempted to reassure herself, "Candy pirates, J.E.E.P.E.R.s, the giant treehouse you're in right now! It's all real! The Moonbase can be too!" 

She didn't feel the least bit better, but at least she was determined to trust them until they fooled her. _What if it's the truth?_ Molly reminded herself, _You don't want to pass up a chance like this._

Molly emerged from Kuki's bedroom. "Hey Molly. The others are in the kitchen eating breakfast if you want to join them," Nigel greeted. 

Molly nodded. She didn't want to be hungry during her commissioning. She wandered around to where she thought the kitchen would be, and wound up lost for a few minutes, going from hallways to hallway, until by some miracle she stumbled upon the kitchen. 

"Hey Molly!" Abby greeted, between Kuki and a very groggy Wally. "Wow, looks like you've got somethin' nice on today. Can I see?" 

Molly blushed. "Sure." She pulled her bear hoodie back off and tied it around her waist so that her outfit was visible. 

"Oh my gosh!" Kuki gasped, "You look Beautiful!" 

"Yeah girl, you look perfect," Abby added. 

Molly played with the edges of her shirt. "Aw, thanks! But it's not perfect. I only have one kind of shoes to wear." 

Wally complained, "And I only got one hour of sleep last night." 

"And whose fault was that?" Abby reprimanded him. She turned to Molly. "Don't mind him, he's just grumpy. Sit down and have some breakfast with us, and then I'll let you look at my shoes and you can pick out which ones you want to wear. You like Rainbow Munchies?" 

"For real?" Molly grinned, "Oh thank you Numbuh 5! And yes, I love rainbow munchies!" 

Molly sat on the other side of the table from Wally and Kuki as Abby poured her a bowl of Rainbow Munchies. She bounced up and down until her bowl was set in front of her. Molly shoveled the cereal into her mouth. 

Wally blinked at her, momentarily snapped out of his sleepiness. "Wow, you must have a gihugic appetite! Numbuh 2's gonna be jealous!" 

Molly shrugged sheepishly. "I honestly don't know if it's because I'm excited or because I usually skip breakfast." 

"You shouldn't skip breakfast," Abby advised, "It's the most important meal of the day." 

"I know. There just wasn't enough to go around at my house, so I saved cereal for days that I'd really need it." 

"Oh no!" Kuki cried. 

Abby shook her head in agreement. "Sounds like you had quite a bad life before. I'm glad we got you out of there when we did." 

"Me too," Molly sighed in relief. She ate the last of the cereal in her bowl, and then brought the bowl up to her face and slipped the milk until the bowl was empty. She continued, "So we are going to fight bad guys like we did yesterday, right? That's what you guys do?" 

"Yes!" Wally confirmed. 

Abby added, "We do a lot of other things too. Sometimes we do spy work, stealth missions, or retrieval missions. Lots of those end up involving fighting too, though." 

Before their conversation could continue, though, Hoagie popped into the kitchen, with Trixie and Phoenica following behind him. "C'mon guys, we were supposed to leave three minutes ago." 

"Moon time!" Trixie and Phoenica cheered in unison. 

"Moon time!" Molly echoed, running to her friends and pulling them into a group hug. 

"I'll show you three to the C.O.O.L.B.U.S.," Hoagie told them. 

As they followed, Phoenica peeped, "If I may ask, what is this C.O.O.L.B.U.S. you speak of?" 

"You'll see," Hoagie replied with a sly smile. 

Reaching the hangar where the other operatives had arrived before them, Trixie, Phoenica, and Molly beheld a revamped school bus, with the letters KND written across the side and rocket boosters attached to the back. "That's so cool," Phoenica breathed. 

"And that's going to take us through space?" Trixie wondered. 

"All the way to the moon!" Hoagie stated proudly. The three almost-operative cooed in amazement. Hoagie seemed to swell with pride at their amazement. 

"Hurry up you four," Nigel prompted, "I know it's all really cool, and Molly, Trixie, and Feenie want to see all the cool tech, but we'll have to do that later. Numbuh 362 is expecting us." 

"Who's that?" Molly asked as she boarded the C.O.O.L.B.U.S. with her friends. 

"Numbuh 362 is our supreme leader," Nigel informed her. 

Trixie gasped, "Wow! Supreme leader! That sounds so cool!" 

"It's very cool," Abby agreed. 

"Everybody get strapped in," Hoagie commanded from the pilot's chair. Sector V settled into their designated seats, while Trixie, Molly, and Phoenica found open seats near the back right next to the windows. "And… Liftoff!" Hoagie shouted. The engine burst to life. The C.O.O.L.B.U.S. rose off the ground and blasted into the sky, leaving the earth in its dust. 

"Oh, and one more thing, you three," Nigel said as they lifted up into the sky, "When you are taking the oath to join the Kids Next Door, you replied with 'cross my heart, and hope to die.' Got it?" 

Trixie, Molly, and Phoenica nodded. 

"Good," Numbuh 1 told them. 

Giddiness and adrenaline filled the three friends as the trip began. They watched, awed, as the earth vanished, and clouds flew past them. Then they entered the black sky of space, and gasped in wonder as they passed stars. "It's over already?" Trixie complained when they landed. 

"What are you talking about? Thirty minutes passes!" Wally grumbled, "I was mega-uber bored!" 

"Come on, Numbuh 4," Kuki hummed, "You remember how excited you were to visit the Moonbase for the first time." 

Trixie didn't complain anymore as soon as she set foot in the Moonbase's hangar. "Woah!" all three of the friends breathed as they took in their surroundings. 

"This is- This is-!" Phoenica stammered. 

"Huge?" Molly suggested, eyes wide. 

Trixie added, "Bright?" 

"Amazing!" Phoenica finished. 

"It sure is," Trixie agreed. Molly nodded her agreement simultaneously. 

"We'll have to show you around after your commissioning," Wally told them. 

Hoagie supported, "Yeah, we would do it now, but we're a little behind." 

As if on cue, a voice screamed, "Numbuh one! You and your team are late!" The entire room seemed to cover their ears at the sound of the voice. 

"Eep!" Molly exclaimed, cringing away from the loud noise, and putting up a silencing bubble. 

"What?" sector V wondered as the green mist surrounded them. 

Abby turned to Molly. "Hey, it's okay," she assured her, "Numbuh 86 loses her temper easily." 

"Is that the girl you told me about last night, Numbuh 3?" Molly asked. Kuki nodded. 

Slowly, Molly let down the silence bubble. Trixie and Phoenica each took one of Molly's hands and squeezed them tight. 

Fanny was down to a normal yelling voice now. "Come _on_ you guys! Numbuh 362 and Numbuh 60 are waiting!" 

The eight kids followed Fanny to the Moonbase's auditorium. Once there, Fanny joined two others standing next to the Kids Next Door Code Module. There was a small group in the stands there to watch the commissioning. 

_Some of those kids seem familiar,_ Molly thought to herself. "There you are! I was wondering when you were going to show up!" greeted Rachel, which snapped Molly away from her thought. She approached Trixie, Phoenica, and Molly. "Greetings cadets! I'm Numbuh 362, supreme leader of the kids next door." 

"Woah," the three breathed. Trixie added, "It's an honor!" 

"Attention cadets!" Patton yelled, "I am Numbuh 60. I train the Cadets Next Door at the arctic base; however, I have been informed of your current jump straight into field work. It is the best way to learn, I suppose. I'm here to officiate your commissioning with supreme leader 362." 

Trixie and Phoenica saluted, with Molly, still holding their hands, nodding. "Yes sir!" they replied. 

"I am Numbuh 86, head of decommissioning" Fanny introduced herself finally, "Hopefully, the only time you'll have to work with me is on your thirteenth birthday. Occasionally, though, you'll see me in the field as well. You three seem cool with me, since none of you are boys." 

The three were silent. "What?" Phoenica wondered. 

"Don't worry about that," Rachel shrugged. 

"Stand in order of your age, from oldest to youngest, "Patton commanded. 

The three girls rearranged themselves into a line, with Molly at the front, Trixie at the back, and Phoenica sandwiched in between. Rachel stood before them. "Molly, do you swear to battle adult tyranny without pause, without fail, without rest, except for cookie breaks?" 

Molly took a deep breath to still her nerves. She was still half-expecting this to all be a dream, but to her relief, she never woke up. "Cross my heart and hope to die," she promised. 

"You may now insert your genetic material into the code module, and register with the super big Computermabob" Rachel told her, presenting the module to Molly. 

Molly stared at it. "Uh," she muttered nervously. 

Rachel leaned close to her. "Just pick your nose and put the booger inside the machine." 

"Oh." Molly did as she was told. 

"Now, you can tell us what your number is." Molly flushed nervously and whimpered. Rachel whispered, "You got this." 

"Numbuh 7!" Molly yelled. She squeezed her eyes shut as she did so. 

The pleasant voice of the Computermabob replied, "Welcome to the Kids Next Door, operative Numbuh 7. You shall serve kids everywhere from your treehouse quarters in sector V." 

The rest of Sector V cheered. "Come here, Molly!" Abby called over, opening her arms for a hug. Molly laughed and ran over to the group. She and Abby embraced, and the rest of Sector V, except Wally, joined in. 

"Ick. Hug stuff," Wally muttered. 

Phoenica was up next. "Phoenica, do you swear to battle adult tyranny without pause, without fail, without rest, except for cookie breaks?" Rachel recited. 

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Phoenica promised, making the gesture with her hands. 

"You may now insert your genetic material into the code module, and register with the super big Computermabob." 

"I chose Numbuh 2K," Phoenica announced as she did so. Quietly giggling, she added, "It's what I get from my allowance every week." 

"She gets _two thousand dollars_ in allowance money?" Nigel gawked. 

Molly answered with a drawn out, "Yup." The others stared at Phoenica impressed. "She's a rich girl," Molly murmured with a smile. 

"Welcome to the Kids Next Door, operative Numbuh 2K," the Computermabob boomed once again, "You shall serve kids everywhere from your treehouse quarters in sector W." 

"Sector W?" Nigel exclaimed. The kids in the stands cheered. 

"Sorry, Nigel," Rachel apologized, "Sector W needs a few more members, and- well, none of the cadets at the Arctic Base are ready yet." 

Nigel nodded in understanding. 

"So Phoenica's not going to be fighting with us?" Molly asked. 

"Not on normal field missions, no," Abby answered. 

"However, sector W and sector V are neighboring sectors," Rachel explained, "So often there will be times when you need to team up." 

"I'll text you every night," Phoenica promised. 

The children from the stands had now come down to join them in the center of the auditorium. "Hello, Phoenica," Greeted the boy in front, "I'm your sector leader, Numbuh 363. I think you'll find that sector W is the very best sector in the Kids Next Door, even better than the show-offs in sector V." 

" _Harvey_ " Rachel threatened. 

Harvey looked at the ground. "Sorry sis." 

"Sis? As in the supreme leader is your sister?" Phoenica asked. 

Harvey smirked, "Pretty cool, huh?" 

"I hate to interrupt team introductions and such, but this ceremony isn't over yet," Rachel reminded them, gesturing to Trixie who waved at them. Rachel turned to Trixie. "Bellatrix, do you swear to battle adult tyranny without pause, without fail, without rest, except for cookie breaks?" 

With a determined gleam in her eyes, Trixie triumphantly announced, "Cross my heart and hope to die!" 

Rachel grinned at Trixie's energy. "You may now insert your genetic material into the code module, and register with the super big Computermabob." 

Trixie inserted her booger into the code module with pride. "I'm Numbuh 21!" 

"Welcome to the Kids Next Door, operative Numbuh 21. You shall serve kids everywhere from your treehouse quarters in sector W." 

"I guess I'll be joining Feenie," she commented. She crossed the room to sector W. 

"Hello Trixie!" Phoenica cheered as she joined the group, "Harvey just introduced himself to us." 

Harvey scoffed as if offended. "You will call me Numbuh 363!" he snapped. 

"Don't mind him, he's prickly," Lee waved away, "I'm numbuh 84." He absent-mindedly flicked his yo-yo up and down. 

"Wait, I know you!" Molly burst, "You were in the store the other day." She pointed to Sonia, "And you were there too." 

"Oh yeah, you're the girl from the toy store," Sonia recalled. 

Lee laughed, "Finally got out of that crumby job, huh?" 

"Yes," Molly sighed, her eyes looking tired for a moment. 

"I'm Numbuh 63," Sonia greeted, extending her hand. 

Molly took her hand and shook it. "Molly." 

"Nice to meet you, Molly," Lee waved. 

"A-as long as we're introducing ourselves," said the last remaining member of sector W, "I'm Numbuh 67. It's nice to have new members." 

"It is nice to have new friends!" Phoenica replied. 

Trixie nodded half-heartedly. "I want to be on Molly's team," she mumbled, "I have another friend on that side, too." 

"Too bad, princess," Harvey snapped. 

"Hey! Don't call me that!" Trixie hissed back, shoving him. 

Harvey practically screamed, "Don't touch me!" Molly covered her ears as he did so. 

"Okay, geez," Trixie grumped. 

"I'm sorry," Rachel told him, "My brother has an issue with being touched. He's a little brat sometimes, and yes, you should put him in his place when he does-" Rachel winked at Trixie "-But please avoid touching him. It… It goes beyond being picky." She leaned in to Trixie, "It's a condition. I know it's weird but-" 

"I got it," Trixie whispered back, "It's a mental thing?" 

"Basically." 

Wally walked up to Trixie. "So… I guess we aren't going to be able to hang out as often as I wanted us to. And you're gonna have to hang out with that freakshow." 

"Yeah, he's really weird," Trixie agreed, glancing at Harvey, "I really wanted to be in sector E with you guys." 

"Sector V," Wally corrected. 

"Yeah, sector V. I wish I was in sector V." 

"At least you got your friend," Wally pointed out. 

Molly joined in, "And we can text every night, like Phoenica and I are gonna do." 

"Besides, the rest of sector W is very nice," Abby added, "Numbuh 363 is just the exception." 

"Besides, dear," Phoenica chimed in, "That Harvey fellow doesn't seem too horrible. Temperamental, sure, but I think that there may be some underlying problems we aren't seeing." 

"There are definitely underlying problems," Trixie replied with a chuckle, "And yeah, I think I will text you every night, Molly." 

"Oh goodie! We can make a group chat!" Phoenica suggested, clapping her hands. 

With that issue resolved, Rachel suggested, "How about you two sectors give your new members a tour together?" 

Nigel and Harvey exchanged a begrudging look, but both of them softened when they looked back to Rachel. 

"Sure," Nigel sighed. 

"Why not?" Harvey shrugged. 

With that, the two teams joined as one. "So this room, that you've been commissioned in, is the auditorium," Harvey started. 

"We use it for pre-decommissioning parties, cadet graduations, commissioning, and uber important announcements made by the supreme leader," Nigel elaborated. 

"And you just met the supreme leader, Numbuh 362," Harvey added. He gestured to himself with importance, "She's _my_ sister." 

They exited the auditorium, and were led down some halls. They stopped just outside of another entry way and stopped short. "This is the militia headquarters. We're not technically allowed in, but here it is just so you know where it is," Nigel explained. 

"C'mon, I'll give you something you can actually see," Harvey told them. He led them through several hallways. They entered a large room, where several operatives were eating. "This is the cafeteria," Harvey informed them, "Any time you're at the Moonbase, have free time, and you're hungry, just come here. There's always food available." 

"There's even ice cream available here," Abby grinned. 

Kuki bounced with enthusiasm. "And they have these rainbow monkey pancakes that are so good!" she cooed. 

"We should probably get out of here before it makes everyone start to feel hungry," Sonia suggested. 

They wandered out and continued onwards. They stopped at the edge of a strange hallway. It somehow seemed more empty than the other halls, and darker too. "This, uh, is the way our decommissioning chamber," Nigel told them. 

"It wipes your memories of this organization and everything you did here when you turn thirteen," Harvey explained, "But you'll still remember all the times you had outside of the Kids Next Door." 

"It's selective," Nigel agreed. 

They stared down the hallway a while longer. "There's only one thing left, really," Harvey admitted, "But let's go a different way." 

"Yeah," Nigel nodded, and a chorus of agreement rose from the members of sectors V and W. 

"It's not that bad," Paddy argued, "My sister works down there." 

"Your sister is mean," Lee argued. 

Kuki defended, "I like Numbuh 86! She's my friend!" 

"Oh, that loud girl is your sister?" Phoenica asked. 

Paddy confirmed, "Yup." 

"That's probably tiring somedays," Trixie joked. 

Paddy shook his head. "I'm used to her. Besides, my sis is really cool. She works at the Moonbase, after all." 

"She sounds like a hard worker," Molly commented. 

Paddy nodded with a grin. "I want to be as high up as her someday. She likes to tease me about not being able to make it but I think she does think I can do it." 

"Older siblings can be really weird about how they care about you," Molly noted, "My sister used to throw teddy bears at me instead of saying 'I love you.'" 

Paddy laughed. "Why?" 

"Bears are my favorite animal." 

The group stopped in the hangar they had landed in before. "This is the last major room we can show you," Harvey told them. 

"This is the room we started in," Trixie pointed out. 

"It's the hangar we stopped in as well when we got here," Sonia remembered. 

"Yes, well, it's time to go," Nigel commanded. He turned to Harvey. "Not a bad tour. I'm impressed with your cooperation." Harvey stared at Nigel for a moment, expression blank, before a smile peaked on his face and he nodded. Then, the two leaders turned away from each other in silence. 

Molly, Trixie, and Phoenica embraced each other one last time. "I'll miss you guys so, so much!" Molly promised. 

"We'll miss you so, so much too!" Phoenica replied. 

Trixie whined, "I'm already missing you!" 

Once the three stopped hugging, Wally shuffled up to the group. He handed Trixie a piece of paper. "My phone number," he told her, "So we can talk, if you want." 

"Thanks!" Trixie took the paper. "I'll keep in touch." 

"C'mon guys! We gotta go!" Harvey complained, "We probably have mission debriefs being delivered to our treehouse as we speak!" 

"Cool it, 363," Lee mumbled. Harvey just rolled his eyes and walked away. 

Phoenica curtsied. "If you need anything, just call, Molly." 

"See you guys later!" Trixie waved, and then flashed a peace sign. 

"Bye guys." Molly gave them a small wave as they chased after the rest of their team. 

Abby put a hand on Molly's shoulder. "You gonna be okay without them?" 

Molly turned to look at Abby with a smile. "It's not exactly what I imagined," Molly admitted, "But this is still going to be the best thing to ever happen to me in my life." 

"Alright team," Nigel announced, "Let's return to the treehouse." All six of them shuffled back into the C.O.O.L.B.U.S. "Oh, and Numbuh 7?" he added, "You will be seated next to Numbuh 3 and are stationed to man the gun next to that seat should an attack arise. 

"Gun?" Molly whimpered. 

"It fires gumballs, don't worry," Kuki reassured her. 

Molly nodded in understanding. "Kind of loud though." 

"They aren't too loud," Kuki promised. 

"I've noticed you aren't a fan of loud noises," Wally noted, "Why's that?" 

"I have sensitive ears," Molly answered him, "Also I have misophonia, although nothing that we've encountered has really set it off yet." 

"Miso-what?" Wally asked. 

"Misophonia," Abby repeated, "It's a hearing thing." 

Molly explained, "Most of my triggers are alarms. Fire alarms are a big one." 

"Well, there are quite a few alarms in our line of work," Nigel informed her, "Will you be alright?" 

"Yes. Not every alarm is a trigger. I really just have to play by ear to figure out which ones do and don't. Pun not intended." She laughed. 

Hoagie chuckled. "Intended or not, it was a good one Numbuh 7!" 

"Thank you," Molly smiled. She glanced out the window as the last stars before re-entering Earth's atmosphere passed. She noticed the orange of the sky. "Woah, how long were we up there?" She wondered. 

"The ceremonies last a long time," Nigel answered. 

"Not to mention, there was that tour afterwards," Abby reminded her, "The Moonbase is a big place." 

"It's hard to gauge how much time has passed up there," Hoagie added, "There's no sky or sun to reference. You basically just have to watch any clock you can find." 

"The timelessness kind of adds to the coolness when you think about it," Wally commented. 

"It _was_ really cool!" Molly agreed, "I can't wait to go back someday!" 

Nigel chuckled, "I'm sure you'll be going there quite a few times in your time as an operative." 

The C.O.O.L.B.U.S. bumped slightly as it hit the ground of the sector v treehouse's hangar. "Back already?" Molly wondered. 

Wally laughed. "You think that the trips on the rockets are cool? Just you wait." 

Molly could hardly contain herself thinking about all the cool things she might do tomorrow. She bounced up and down at the thought of going on all kinds of super cool missions with sector v. She could only dream of the larger-than-life missions that would require them to team up with sector w, heart leaping at the thought of fighting alongside her closest friends. While everyone else went inside, she glanced back at the horizon just as the sun slipped beneath the horizon line. Then, she entered the treehouse, content within the twilight. 

"Hey Numbuh 7!" Hoagie greeted, and the rest of sector v waved from the couches in the main room. 

"We're just about to watch our favorite show," Nigel told her, "You want to join?" 

Molly grinned, "Yeah!" She squeezed between Nigel and Abby as Hoagie flickered on the TV with the remote. She couldn't remember the last time she felt truly joyful, but right now she couldn't be happier. She thought to herself, _If only this could last forever._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize that this chapter was a little dull, but I needed to write this and introduce more characters. There will be more action in the next chapter, promise!


	3. A Doozy of a First Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unfamiliar face with a familiar name appears, prompting Molly to tell sector v more about her past.

"Numbuh 7! Numbuh 7! Molly!" Kuki's cries break into Molly's dream, and Molly's eyes flutter open with a start as her shoulders are gently shaken. Kuki grins at her, "Sorry for waking you up, but we have a mission!" 

Molly slipped out of bed next from where she had been sleeping next to her. She didn't remember how she'd gotten into Kuki's room. As far as she can remember, they watched cartoons until late in the night and she'd fallen asleep on the couch. Someone must have carried her here; if she had to guess, it was probably Wally or Abigail. She rubbed her eyes, and suddenly it hit her that she was going on her first mission _right now._ The realization shook off all sleepy confusion, and Molly was filled with rigor and excitement. She smiled and followed Kuki into the main room. 

Nigel was there to debrief them, with a mission log that had been sent to him by Moonbase. "Okay team," Nigel announced, "We've just received word that Father has been working on making a delightfulization ray so powerful it could delightfulize the entire Kids Next Door organization with one zap. Since it's still under construction, we've been ordered to destroy it before it is finished." 

Molly raised her hand. 

"Yes, numbuh 7?" Nigel asked. 

"What's delightfulization?" 

All the other members of sector V exchanged a look. "I think you'd understand better when we get there than if we explained it," Abby told her, "Until then, just know that it's bad." 

"And who is Father? Is he… Your dad?" Molly asked cautiously. 

"Heavens no!" Nigel yelped, "That's his name. He's everything you don't want in a dad." 

Molly looked down at the floor. "I'd know something about that," she muttered, too quiet for anyone else to hear. 

Nigel continued, "He's a mundie, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have powers. He has magic, but he can really only do one thing, so it's no big deal." 

"But if we want to stop him, we've got to stop him before he can get very far into his plan. No time to lose! To the J.E.E.P.E.R.," Hoagie announced. 

"I'm not sitting on the floor again," Wally grumbled. 

Hoagie laughed, "Relax, numbuh 4. I added an extra seat last night." 

The six children walked down to the hangar, and piled into the J.E.E.P.E.R., which was still tightly packed, but did, indeed, have six seats now. Wally seemed satisfied, and Hoagie smiled, feeling quite accomplished. Soon after, he took off. Molly wished she could look over the side of the flying vehicle and watch the landscape below fly by underneath her, but she was packed in the backseat with Wally, Kuki, and Abby, squished in between the two girls. Instead, she looked upwards through the sunroof at the passing clouds. 

She hardly noticed that the clouds were getting farther away from her until the J.E.E.P.E.R. thumped against the ground as it landed. Sector V scrambled out of the J.E.E.P.E.R. The five initial members of sector V were equipped, Nigel with a S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R., Hoagie with a B.O.T.T.L.E.C.A.P., some kind of gun that fires soda, Kuki with her gumball machine gun, Wally with his mustard blaster, and Abby with an ice cream cone blaster they called the C.O.N.E.C.A.N.N.O.N. Molly looked down at her bare hands, realizing that without a weapon, she would probably have to fight with only her epithet. Her worries were for naught, however, as Nigel slid over next to her and passed her a small bag. 

"After seeing you in action with those jawbreakers when fighting Stickybeard, I knew these would be perfect for you," he told her, giving her a small pat on the back, "Ready for your first official Kids Next Door mission, numbuh 7?" 

Molly smiled with a sense of confidence she hadn't felt in a long time. "Mhm!" 

She followed the rest of sector V as they charged into the Delightful Mansion. Getting a good look at the place, Molly marveled at how big the place was. It seemed to be even bigger than Phoenica's mansion, and that was quite the accomplishment. It was oddly decorated as well, the walls were a pleasant baby blue, The roof tiles a warm orange, and the flourishes white. There were many windows, with an inviting glow coming from them. Molly wondered how this place could possibly house evil. 

She couldn't doubt that it was evil, though. Each of her friends seemed on edge, even Wally and Abby, whom Molly had already noted to be the fearless ones of the bunch. Kuki was affected by the presence as well, acting more seriously than Molly thought was possible for the carefree girl. Molly looked back at the huge mansion, which did look _delightful,_ and remembered that even nice places can be deceivingly awful. She had spent the last two years feeling trapped in a toy store, after all. 

They all crowded around one of the windows, which had been propped open for an unknown reason. One by one, Wally helped boost them up and they wriggled through the window into the manor. As she did so, Molly felt very suddenly that she was breaking and entering, and even though she was a criminal of sorts, it did make her stomach squirm. She shrugged it off, though; this was a bad guy's home, so there wasn't anything really wrong with what they were doing. After they were all boosted in, Hoagie and Abby worked together to pull up Wally. 

Molly glanced around the room. It seemed to belong to a child, or maybe multiple, although there was only one very large bed in the room. The bedroom was very neat, with a bookshelf, dusted and organized, against the wall. There was a closet on the other side of the room, and though it was closed, Molly could imagine it all tidy, with perfectly unwrinkled clothes hanging up inside. There was not a single thing out of place within the room, and no toys save for a single, blue sheep plushie sitting upon the bed. To be perfectly honest, Molly thought that whoever lived in this bedroom must be the perfect child. She also thought that she had a few friends who would love that sheep plushie. 

"Now what?" Wally asked, snapping Molly back to the task at hand, "Are we gonna blow this popsicle stand? Charge in guns ablazin'?" He smiled mischievously. 

"We're going a stealth direction this time. Do not draw attention to us, unless you want us all to end up an early batch of delightfulized brats," Nigel hissed. 

"Fine," Wally pouted, crossing his arms. 

"We're going to find this ray gun device and destroy it," Nigel told them, "Don't let them find us until then." 

"Who all are we looking out for?" Molly's voice was a whisper. 

"There could be other surprises lurking in here, but the main threats are Father, his children, and their butler," Nigel informed her. 

"So he does have children," Molly noted to herself, "How many?" 

She hadn't meant for anyone to hear her ramble, but Kuki leaned over towards her and answered, "Five." 

Molly didn't voice her concern, but she definitely felt some. A man who they had described as everything you don't want in a dad who has five children just didn't bode well with her. As they sneaked down the hallways, Nigel fell back and walked next to Molly. "Hey," he greeted. 

"Hi." 

"You actually have a pretty big role in this mission," he told her with a smile. 

Molly's whole body clenched up with anxiety. "What do you mean?" she asked. 

He pointed at the bag he had handed her earlier. "Have you looked at these yet?" 

"Uh." She opened up the bag. There were tiny spheres within, the colors upon them swirled together in bizarre patterns. She ran her fingers through them. She commented with some surprise, "They're marbles." 

"Careful, there. I wouldn't jostle them too much," Nigel advised, "Those just aren't any marbles, they are Kids Next Door 2x4 technology." 

"Oh, what do you call them?" Molly asked, an excited edge to her whisper. 

"Just M.A.R.B.L.E.S.," Nigel answered, with a silent laugh. 

"Oh." Molly smiled at how silly it was. 

Nigel continued, "When we get to the delightfulization ray, I need you to throw some of those at it. Try not to miss." 

"What are M.A.R.B.L.E.S. going to do to it?" 

Nigel grinned slyly. "You'll see." 

"Okay," Molly replied, not hiding her uncertainty. Nigel returned to the lead of the group, and Molly took the rear with Hoagie. 

"You adjusting alright?" he asked her. 

"Yeah," she muttered back. 

"First mission is pretty exciting, huh?" he asked, "I remember my first mission." He smiled fondly. 

"I'm sure you were better than me on your first mission. You had training," Molly hummed. 

Hoagie gave her a curt pat on the back, "You're doing great numbuh 7." 

"Right through this door, gang," Nigel instructed them. 

The six children entered the room. Molly clutched her bag of M.A.R.B.L.E.S. close to her, anxious to toss them at whatever she needed to. Her teammates glanced around in confusion, however. The room seemed to be empty, with a ceiling that faded into a shroud of darkness. "Something's not right," Abby gasped. 

"Correct!" a voice boomed above them. Bright lights came on above them, revealing an open balcony hanging above them. Standing on the balcony, staring down malevously at them, was the strangest man Molly had ever seen. He seemed to be a silhouette. Molly guessed that this was Father. "This isn't right, Abigail. It's a trap for you pesky Kids Next Door. Of course, I knew I had to get rid of you first. You five come charging in all willy nilly!" 

"Hey! I was told specifically not to do that, so neh-neh, you're wrong!" Wally yelled up at him. 

"Numbuh 4, be quiet," Nigel commanded. 

"If I'm wrong about anything, it's that I see a sixth one," Father boomed, "A new runt of the litter? Did you happen to mention what happened to your last new member?" 

Molly glanced over to them nervously. 

"You leave Tommy out of this!" Hoagie barked, "He's a hero!" 

"Or maybe what my teen ninjas did to that stupid skunk agent of yours!" 

"Bradley's super cool now!" Kuki argued. 

"Y- You can't scare me!" Molly shouted. 

Father laughed darkly. "You sure sound scared to me, kid." Molly looked down at the ground. He continued to snicker above her. "Are you gonna cry?" 

"shut up!" she commanded. 

"What was that, you annoying brat?" he growled. 

"I said shut up!" Molly screamed. 

_Insolent child!_ Father shrieked back, except that he was rendered completely silent. He was muted. 

"Wait to go numbuh 7!" Hoagie cheered, giving Molly a high-five. Molly laughed, flushed with anxiousness and relief all at once. Her celebration didn't last long though. 

In a silent rage, Father's powers roared to life, a bright red fire engulfing him, and threatening to take the whole room. Now Molly was the one rendered speechless, trembling, unable to see or think about anything else but the flames. He breath choked in her throat, and tears were already streaming down her face before she could truly process what was happening. She felt her hold on Father slip away from her, and once it was relinquished, the flames were gone. She could feel her teammates staring at her. 

"It seems you are scared of me now, newbie," he hissed, "Now, to delightfulize you pests before-" 

He was cut off by Kuki rapid firing at him with her gumball machine gun. "You're a big meanie! A big, big meanie!" Kuki screeched with rage. 

"Yeah!" Wally agreed, joining in with his mustard laser. 

"Are you okay, girl?" Abby asked. 

"Yeah, what just happened numbuh 7?" Nigel asked her. 

"Come on, we have to get her out of here," Hoagie added. 

Molly felt like her legs were jelly, and began to fall to the ground, but Abby caught her, and managed to carry Molly out of the room with the help of Hoagie and Nigel. 

"C'mon, Molly, deep breathes," Nigel told her. Abby had her hand held tightly. Molly did as she was told. 

"Can you tell us what just happened?" Hoagie prompted gently. 

"Fire," Molly croaked, "The room was on fire." 

Nigel nodded, "That's Father's power. He lights things on fire." 

Molly's face was fresh with renewed horror. "No," she mumbled. 

"You're scared of fire, then?" Nigel deduced, "Well, there's no shame in that, but we might not be able to take you on missions here anymore." 

"I want to help," Molly squeaked. 

Abby gave her hand a squeeze, "We know, Molly, but this guy is a pretty big deal, and we don't want you having break downs all the time. That's bad for you." 

Kuki and Wally burst out from the door behind them. "Run! Go!" Wally shouted. 

"I'm running out of gumballs," Kuki whined. 

"We're retreating guys," Nigel announced to the group, "We have to get Numbuh 7 out of here." 

"No," Molly argued, although her voice was trembling, "You guys said that we have to get rid of this thing now or it's going to be very bad. We have to get that done." 

Nigel paused to think about it. "Yes, I suppose numbuh 7 is right. We have to be quick about it though. Who knows what will happen now that they know we're here." 

Father ran out after Kuki and Wally. "Uh oh!" Kuki peeped. She and Wally fell back, still firing their weapons. Father produced a fireball in his hands and prepared to throw it at them. 

"No!" Molly screamed, and without thinking she grabbed a handful of M.A.R.B.L.E.S. and chucked them at Father. 

Wally noticed just in the nick of time, and grabbed Kuki's hand to pull her down to the ground. The M.A.R.B.L.E.S. flew over their heads. " _What are you doing?_ " Wally yelled. 

"Sorry," Molly whimpered, but it was inaudible under the sound of all five M.A.R.B.L.E.S. hitting their target and exploding. Father was launched across the hall and slammed into the wall at the end. "Woah, that's what they do," Molly breathed. 

Wally looked from Father to Molly. "You know what? It's fine," he told her. 

"Quick, while he's down," Abby cried. The operatives scrambled down the hallway, and around the corner. They all began frantically looking behind all doors. There was no point in subtly anymore. After the man of the house knew you were there, everyone knew you were there. 

Molly peered cautiously behind one of the doors. Behind it was a group of sullen children, tidy like the room they had been in when they entered the Delightful Mansion. They looked at her with something near indifference. "Who are you?" they wondered, their voices in such perfect unison that it made Molly shiver in discomfort. She didn't answer, and after a short pause, they decided, "It doesn't matter. We were told to stay out of the grown-ups way today." The five children resumed their pouting. 

Molly closed the door without a word. "Found it!" Kuki's chipper voice chimed behind her. The members of sector V all packed into the room. 

"Grown ups…" Molly muttered under her breath. 

"What was that, Molly?" Nigel wondered. 

"Back there, I opened a door, and those kids you told me about were there," Molly told him. 

"The Delightful Children from Down the Lane?" Abby asked. 

"And they didn't attack you?" Wally couldn't believe it. 

Molly shook her head. "They said they were told to stay out of the grown-ups way. But there's only one grown-up here, right?" 

There was a pause, and the silence hung heavy in the room. "Molly, throw your M.A.R.B.L.E.S. at the machine now," Nigel commanded quietly. 

Molly stammered and dug into the bag. She picked up a handful of the small, round explosives, and chucked them at the delightfulizing ray. Something strange happened, though. As the M.A.R.B.L.E.S. approached their target, they slowed to a crawl, and then stopped in midair. "Huh?" Molly cooed. Without detonating, the M.A.R.B.L.E.S. crumbled to dust in front of the six kids. 

Laughter echoed from across the room, this time more jovial than Father's had been, yet equally as threatening. "When he said a bunch of kids were gonna attack this thing, I thought he was crazy!" the woman facing them cackled, "Of course, I still took the job. He's paying me, and _I'm_ not crazy." 

"Who are you?" Kuki asked. 

Her laughter turned to more of a snicker. "The name's Zora. Have you heard it before? I wouldn't be surprised if you have." 

"The bounty hunter," Nigel pointed out, his voice low and dark. 

"You have heard of me!" Zora cheered. 

Molly cocked her head to the side, confused. "Aren't you with the Bliss Ocean guys?" 

Zora nodded, "But that doesn't pay nearly as much as this job does, so now I'm balancing jobs." Zora scanned the group, her stare lingering on Molly. She hummed curiously. "Say," she called, pointing at Molly, "I know you." 

"Um, no. I think I'd remember meeting a known member of Bliss Ocean." 

Zora approached the group and looked Molly over. "Oh no, I definitely know you, or know of you. You were at the Sweet Jazz City Museum when one Giovanni Potage stole the Arsene Amulet. You were his complice." 

Molly felt herself feel warm with anxiousness. "You weren't there." Molly's voice wavered as she spoke. 

"A friend of mine was." 

Molly thought for a second. "Mera?" 

Zora boomed with laughter a second time. "That porcelain doll? No," Zora sneered, "You didn't see my business partner. She's slick like that." 

Molly whimpered as Zora turned away, still side-eyeing her. 

"Well we don't care who you are or what you know about Molly," Nigel huffed. 

Zora sneered, "Maybe you'll care about my epithet, kid. You saw what I did to those toys you threw at this thing." 

"You did that?" Wally gasped, his grip on his mustard laser tightening. 

"Sure did!" Zora bragged, "And I'm sure you'll love to hear that I can use my epithet on anything." 

"Including p-people?" Kuki asked, her voice small. 

"Including people," Zora confirmed. She grinned at the children wickedly. "And I hate kids." She reached right for Molly. 

Molly screamed. Nigel grabbed her shoulder before Zora reached her and pulled her away. "Kids Next Door, retreat!" Nigel shouted. The rest of the operatives did not need to be told twice. Sector V made a mad dash to the door, with Zora in pursuit trying to nab one of the children and reduce them to dust before they could leave. The six kids managed to squeeze through the door all at once, leaving her behind. 

Zora groaned. "Oh, if I weren't being paid specifically to stay in the room-!" she grumbled loudly so they could hear. 

Hearing her words only made the children run faster, desperate to escape Zora and her epithet. "What kind of freakish power does she have?" Wally panted as he ran. 

"Oh, I'm sure you'd like to know," Father replied, blocking them at the end of the hall. 

"We're trapped," Molly despaired. Today had been all too much for her. 

"Sure, we can't turn around without that cowboy lady- uh- killing us," Nigel agreed, "But-" 

Kuki interrupted, blasting her gumball machine gun. "We can fight through Father!" 

Wally joined her, firing his mustard lazer. "You know, Numbuh 7, you're pretty good at fighting this guy," he pointed out as he fired. 

Molly muttered, "But the fire!" 

"I get it. You're scared. I mean I guess I don't get it because nothing scares me-" he smiled with pride "-But this guy can't shoot fire if we shoot him first." 

Molly blinked as realization hit her. "You're right." Once again, she scooped up a few M.A.R.B.L.E.S. and chucked it at Father. 

He glared at her as they flew at him. "Oh, come on!" he yelled, and then was thrown across the room as they exploded against him once again. 

Zora watched Father be flung across the room from the door frame. "Alright, I reckon that _that_ is a worthy enough excuse for me to leave." 

"You'll never catch us!" Kuki taunted as the operatives of sector v scrambled away from her while Father was down. 

"Oh, I don't have to," Zora snickered, drawing her gun. 

Hoagie glanced back at her. "You wouldn't shoot a child!" he yelped. The group's pacing sped up once again, understanding the situation. 

"Oh believe me," Zora growled, "I would." 

Luckily for the Kids Next Door, they had been fighting Father and infiltrating the Delightful Mansion for years. Zora, on the other hand, had known him for a week tops, and had hardly been around the mansion at all. They lost her in the maze-like hallways, and had slipped out the front door with no further trouble. They didn't stop running until they were out of the yard and back into their suburban neighborhood. All six of the kids flopped to the ground, in a grassy patch near the park. They were all panting heavily. "What the heck just happened?" Hoagie breathed. 

"That lady was going to kill us," Molly murmured in disbelief. 

Wally blinked. "Yeah!" he screamed, suddenly very angry, "She was gonna _kill us!_ She had a gun! She was going to shoot us!" 

"Oh please, it's not like we've never been threatened with death before," Abby grumbled. 

"But not like that," Wally argued. 

Abby was silent for a moment. "Yeah, not like that." 

"What kind of crazy epithet did she have anyway?" Nigel wondered. 

"She stopped my M.A.R.B.L.E.S. when I threw them. They slowed down to nothing. And then they disintegrated. I think she aged them," Molly deducted, "She must have a time epithet. Maybe temporal? Or hourglass?" 

"What if it's just time?" Kuki suggested. 

"It could be clock or watch," Hoagie suggested, "Something you measure time with." 

"Sundials measure time," Wally pointed out, "Maybe it's sundial!" 

The group glared at him. "Wally, that seems a little silly to me." 

"More like stupid," Abby added, "What does time have to do with the sun? The sun makes light and heat, not time." 

Wally crossed his arms and pouted. "I thought it was a smart suggestion." 

"The exact epithet doesn't matter, anyways," Nigel reminded them, "We know what it does, and that's all that matters." 

"I guess," Wally whined, still pouting. 

Nigel stood back up. "Molly, she knew you." 

"She said you were involved with a museum heist!" Kuki chimed. 

"I heard about that on the news. The Arsene Amulet was stolen. You did that?" Hoagie asked. 

Molly laughed awkwardly. "Um. Kind of. It was more of a 'caught in the crossfire' sort of thing," she explained. 

"We can talk about it when we get back at the treehouse," Nigel suggested. 

Molly nodded in agreement. 

"sounds like a crazy story," Wally hummed, elbowing her gently. 

Kuki giggled, "I love stories! I'm so excited!" 

* * *

"And that's the time I robbed a museum," Molly finished her story. She stood shly before the rest of her team, who were listening intently on the couches. Nigel, Abby, and Hoagie all seemed to be taking mental notes throughout her tale. She couldn't blame them, since it seemed very important to their current mission. Kuki and Wally, on the other hand, seemed enthralled by Molly's words. Kuki, because she loved stories, and Wally (who was debatably more excited than Kuki), because he loved a good caper. 

Nigel nodded. "So you were dragged into that mess by adults and a teenager?" 

"A teenager who attacked you with fire, no less!" Abby added. 

"Well they're my fr-" Molly stopped. Kuki's words echoed in her head, _You probably don't want to tell people about that._ "Yeah, I guess that's what happened." She uttered an unheard, "At first," at the end of her statement. 

"Oh, if I were you, I'd clobber that Sylvie guy into dust," Wally hissed. 

"Into sleep dust!" Kuki cheerfully amended. Kuki laughed, but silenced suddenly, remembering that Molly had told her she was friends with Sylvie. 

Molly tittered. "Oh no, you shouldn't do that." 

"I think I'd punch Giovanni too. Stupid adult really thought he could make you his minion, huh?" Wally huffed, "He had a point with that Beartrap thing though. Can I call you that?" 

"Uh, sure?" Molly hesitated. 

Mera sounds like the worst one," Hoagie stated, "I think I'd hit her with a S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. if I were in your position." 

"Giovanni hit her with his soul slugger doom bat," Molly reminded him. Quietly, she added, "Plus, I didn't want to kill her." 

Kuki, as air-headed as she could be, could feel Molly's anxiety rising. "I know it's a very interesting story, everybody," Kuki announced suddenly, "But we've had a very crazy mission today and almost got killed. I'm tired!" She walked over and put a hand on Molly's shoulder. "And I'm sure Molly is tired, too! She had to put up with fire and some scary lady who knew her somehow, all on her first mission!" 

Nigel, Abby, Wally, and Hoagie all seemed taken aback by Kuki's sudden seeming disinterest in Molly's recounting of her adventure at the museum. Nigel, however, replied, "Yes, you're very right. Molly must be more than exhausted after everything that happened today." 

"Missions aren't usually that intense," Hoagie admitted. 

"You guys can go back to numbuh 3's room to rest, if you want," Nigel dismissed them. 

"Thank you!" Kuki chirped. She pulled Molly out of the front room and into her own. 

Molly heaved a sigh, "Thank you." 

"You're welcome!" Kuki paused for a moment. "So, why _are_ you friends with that teen boy if he did that?" 

"He saved me, remember?" Molly reminded her. 

"Oh. Yes, I guess he did," Kuki nodded. 

"So did Giovanni," Molly added. 

Kuki gave Molly a strange look. "You're friends with teens and adults both? The others aren't going to like this." 

"I know they are, but they're special to me. Maybe if it's such a big deal, I should just come clean," Molly muttered. 

"No!" Kuki implored, "At least, not yet, you shouldn't. Wait for a good time." 

"When is a good time?" Molly asked. 

Kuki shrugged. "You'll know when the time comes, probably. 

"I sure hope so." 

* * *

There was only one vacant room left at sector W's treehouse when Trixie and Phoenica arrived, so now the two friends shared a room. This was all well and good with Phoenica, who loved to have company with her at all times. Trixie, on the other hand, valued keeping to herself, and wished she had a little more alone time. Luckily, Phoenica opted to spend her night socializing with their new friends. This gave Trixie some time to make a phone call that she wasn't certain even Phoenica would let her get away with. 

The phone waited for the other end, then with a beep indicating an answer, Xerxes on the other end said, "Hello?" 

"Xerxes!" Trixie cried. 

"Trixie!" Xerxes replied, "How was the moon? Do you have a sector yet? What's your numbuh? Have you gone on your first mission yet?" 

Trixie laughed, "One question at a time, bro." 

"Sorry, but you didn't call yesterday and I've been waiting very impatiently for you to," Xerxes explained, "By the way, since we don't know where you are, Mom has been worried sick. I told her you were with friends, but there's only so much I can say to keep her at bay before she gets the authorities involved." 

"Tell her we're on a magical quest with Phoenica. Feenie told her parents that, so if Mom and Dad ask them, they'll affirm it." 

"That works with what I've been telling her too. Good thinking Trix." 

"Well, it was Feenie's idea, really." 

"Whatever, it was a good idea," Xerxes shrugged, "Now, tell me everything! I want to know it all!" 

"Well, the Moonbase was fun. It's very cool up there. I lost track of time, it was so incredible," Trixie began, "And when I got commissioned I took a vow, and then I picked my numbuh, which is 21. And I got placed in sector W, with Phoenica, except that Molly got put into a different sector, V I think. It's got this cool boy I met in it too. I wish I could hang out with him again. He was really good at fighting. It's awesome." 

"First of all, I love the numbuh you picked. You're doing great, little sib. Secondly, they put Molly with sector V? With numbuhs 1 through 5?" Xerxes asked. 

"Uh, yeah?" 

"She's going to have trouble adjusting," Xerxes muttered, "Sector V is a group of wild cards." 

"Is that so?" 

"Yeah." 

"Anyways, you probably want to hear about my first mission," Trixie continued. 

"Yes!" Xerxes eagerly yelped. Trixie was a bit surprised by her brother's excitement, but she decided that it was a welcomed alternative to how serious he was most of the time. 

"We had to fight this weirdo dentist called knightbrace. He attacked us with toothpaste and dental floss," Trixie explained, "Feenie slipped on some of the toothpaste and fell right on her face!" Trixie giggled. "We ended up defeating him by dumping a barrel of soda on him. He cried about how it's super unhealthy for your teeth. It was kind of funny seeing him whine like that." 

Xerxes laughed. "A lot of these jerks are just bullies that can't handle being served what they dish out. You can't let them get to you. They're all big babies. Don't forget that Trix." 

"I won't," Trixie promised. 

"Oop- I gotta go Trixie, Mom is yelling about calling the cops to file a missing person report in the other room," Xerxes told her, "Talk to you tomorrow. Kids Next Door rule!" 

"Kids Next Door rule!" Trixie echoed before her brother hung up. She smiled down on her phone even though the call had ended. She hoped everything with Mom went alright. She turned around, and found Phoenica staring daggers at her, hands on her hips. 

"Trixie, what are you doing?" Phoenica asked. 

"Feenie, I didn't- You don't understand!" 

"Who were you talking to?" Phoenica demanded. 

"It was Xerxes, but Feenie you need to listen to me!" 

Phoenica looked hurt more than angry. "Trixie, I didn't think you, of all people, would tell someone about this." 

"Feenie, I didn't!" Trixie swore. 

"What was all that, then?" 

Trixie shouted, "He already knew!" 

Phoenica blinked at her in surprise. "What do you mean?" 

Trixie sighed. "Phoenica-" she grabbed her friend's hands "-Promise me that this with stay between both of us." 

"I- uh- mhm, yes. I promise," Phoenica answered. She knew Trixie for this long, and Phoenica knew that no matter how good a liar Trixie was, Trixie would never lie to her. 

"Xerxes was a Kids Next Door operative, and he still has his memories," Trixie told her, "I don't know how. He told me that I could keep mine too, if I did my best." 

"He did?" 

"Well, he said something like 'If you play your cards right, they'll keep you,' but I didn't really understand what he meant by that," Trixie elaborated. 

Phoenica paused to think. Slowly, she suggested, "Do you think that Xerxes wasn't decommissioned?" 

"Xerxes wasn't decommissioned?" Trixie looked down to the floor and whispered, more to herself than to Phoenica. She looked up at nothing in particular, realization spreading across her face. She grinned at Phoenica, and repeated, "Xerxes wasn't decommissioned!" She giggled. "Feenie you're a genius!" Trixie hugged Phoenica. 

"Thank you," Phoenica laughed, "But this still doesn't answer our question." 

"It doesn't? Why not?" Trixie asked. 

"Because now, the question is how do we not get decommissioned?" Phoenica pointed out. 

"Oh, that's a good point," Trixie hummed, "He won't tell me." 

"Then we might have to do a little digging," Phoenica resolved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys will be getting Giovanni and Sylvie soon. ;)


	4. Strength in Numbuhs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As concern for Father's evil plan grows, more operatives are pulled into the mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I somehow managed to get this chapter done faster than I expected. I thought that it'd be February when this got published. I also know that it's been a while since an update- oops. There's a lot of stuff going on right now, mostly school and mental health, that keeping me from writing, and I wasn't doing much fic-wise during most of December and this month. I don't think updates are going to get more frequent or consistent, and I'm sorry, but just bear with me. It'll be worth it.

If Nigel had to pick out the most daunting task of being sector leader, and there were plenty of daunting tasks, he'd have to say that it was reporting to his sector overviews. It wasn't that he and his sector were being judged so much as it was that he was alone while doing so. It wasn't so bad if he were reporting to someone like Herbert, and it was great if Rachel decided to do it, although she was overqualified, because she liked talking with him. To his dismay, though, this particular night it was Fanny who was recording his overview. 

"Team performance?" Fanny asked, sounding bored, which Nigel couldn't blame her. She'd always been more action oriented. 

"My team worked to the best of their abilities." 

"Individual performances?" 

"Numbuh 2's new invention is still working after his recent additions to the design, and he's ready to start making blue prints for new 2x4 tech. Numbuh 3 did her part of keeping another operative safe in the event of a panic attack-" Fanny raised an eyebrow, but she'd save it for the accident report "-Numbuh 4, once again, is our strongest hitter. Numbuh 5 has shown excellent support for our new operative, as well as being an important asset to our team during today's mission. I have done my best to give my team the guidance that they need and work around any problems that arise on missions." 

"Accident report?" Fanny asked. 

"Doesn't that come last?" Nigel inquired. 

"You mentioned something in your last report, so I figured that I'd ask now," Fanny explained. 

"Yes, well, Numbuh 7, our new recruit, had a panic attack on our mission today," Nigel told her. 

Fanny grimaced, "You're not telling me that she's not cut out for it, are you?" 

"No! She's great in the field!" 

"I knew it," Fanny mumbled. 

"It's just that Numbuh 7 has severe pyrophobia," Nigel elaborated, "And Father's fire triggered it." 

Fanny paused to mull over the information. "Oh dear. So she can't go on missions that involve Father? This is… Unfortunate." 

"She proved useful on our mission today anyways," Nigel argued, "And even if she weren't, that wouldn't change anything." 

"I know!" Fanny defended, "I never said that this is about her being useful." She and Nigel just stared at each other in a moment of silent agreement, before she continued, "Mission status?" 

"Incomplete," he replied. 

"You mean you failed?" Fanny corrected. 

"We'll return again tomorrow to fight against him again. There were complications." 

"Complications? Are you referring to numbuh 7?" She looked at Nigel with contempt at the thought of the notion. 

"No, a further complication," Nigel explained, "Does the name Zora Salazar mean anything to you?" 

Fanny blinked at him, surprised, and suddenly serious. "You mean that bounty hunter that works for Bliss Ocean?" 

"The very one," he confirmed. 

"Don't tell me-" she groaned. 

Nigel shook his head. "Father has hired her to assist him in his plot to delightfulize the entire Kids Next Door organization. She's armed and dangerous. She doesn't hold back either." 

Fanny paled as she learned more about the situation. "So what exactly are we dealing with then?" 

"We're dealing with a maniac with powerful fire magic and a brainwashing super weapon, and a trigger-happy lady dueling wielding pistols, with one of the most deadly epithets I've ever encountered to boot," Nigel answered. 

There was a pause. Nigel hadn't seen Fanny look anxious a day in her life, but now she seemed terrified. "Numbuh 1, this goes way over your head. This goes over my head too." 

"So what do we do, then?" 

"I'm taking you straight to the top. Numbuh 362 will know what to do, I'm sure." The screen he stood before crackled into static as it tried to reconnect to Rachel. 

Now Nigel's nerves were getting to him as well. Fanny didn't connect someone to higher up unless there was an emergency, and only a fraction of the emergencies she had ever gotten warranted being sent higher, and he'd never heard of someone sending the issue straight to the top. He felt his stomach tie into a knot as he stared at the blank screen. 

Finally, the screen zipped back to life, and Rachel was looking at him. Her face was reassuring, even if it was stoic with thought. "Numbuh 1?" She asked, her voice just a little off, like she couldn't quite mask her shock at the news. 

"Numbuh 362 sir!" he replied, with a salute. 

"This development to the mission file is going to take extra planning to figure out. In the meantime, I have some ideas that could keep your team safe. First of all, this is no longer a single sector mission. You know your closest neighboring sector. Next time you confront anything related to the mission, you must join sectors. Second of all, the main goal right now isn't to destroy the delightfulization ray anymore. Before we can do that, we need more information, and more time. Do whatever you can to get more info, even if that means sending in a spy team, or stealing files from the delightful manor. Create setbacks for the enemy if you're able to." 

"Yes sir!" 

"And make sure your medic is well equipped and on standby at all times," Rachel added, "Kuki may seem a little spaced out all the time, but she does know how to patch a bullet wound if worst comes to worst." 

"I hope it doesn't come to that," Nigel grimaced. 

"Me too." 

"That's all I can say to do right now. I'll send you the new plans when they are ready. Hopefully, numbuh 60 can assist me in creating them." 

"I'll be ready when you send them," Nigel promised. 

"Oh and Nigel?" Rachel peeped. 

"Yeah?" 

"You guys are gonna complete this mission. You've already done so much. I believe in you." 

He smiled. "Thanks, Rachel." 

For half a second, he could see her smile back before the screen closed to black. For a few more seconds, he stared at the empty screen where he once was able to find some comfort in the form of companionship. Then, he turned away, and with a sigh his shoulders slumped. He pulled out his communicator, and rang up a number. When the signal connected, he was greeted with a grumpy huff. "Hey Harvey?" Nigel asked, his voice sounding begrudging, "We need to talk." 

* * *

Harvey pinched his nose and hung up the phone. "Uhg, okay," he groaned quietly to himself. He really hated calling team meetings before going to sleep, because everyone was cranky by then, himself especially. Still, he had a job to do, and being leader is not always about the few luxuries that come with it. So, he popped into every room and barked, "real quick team meeting, guys. Be there or be on hamster cleaning duty!" 

Every operative shuffled out of their room, each grumbling, save Phoenica, who was as dainty as ever, though it was clear that Harvey had woken her up. "This better be important, 363," Lee muttered. 

Harvey rolled his eyes. "I don't want to be doing this either!" he hissed. 

"What do you want to be doing then, huh?" Lee wrinkled his nose. 

"Sleeping, numbuh 84!" Harvey snapped. 

Lee huffed, but stopped arguing. 

"Well, I believe that it is necessary, no matter how great or small the importance," Phoenica chimed in. 

Harvey was taken aback by the statement, but then smiled with pride. "Thank you, numbuh 2k!" 

"You're welcome!" she hummed. She and the other members of Sector W sat down on a large couch in the front room of their tree house. 

Harvey sighed, feeling overwhelmed with frustration. First that call that threw a wrench in his plans to have Paddy work on 2x4 tech in their off time, and now his operatives were making it clear that they hated him while he was trying to establish new plans; he was just doing his job, for goodness sake! _Well, not every operative,_ he thought, noticing that in the middle of the group of scowling, cross-armed children, sat Phoenica, her hands politely folded onto her lap, smiling though she was fighting sleep. 

He returned his thoughts to the task at hand. "I have just received news on the mission regarding the delightfulization ray Father intends to use on our entire organization." 

"I thought that was Sector V's problem," Sonia yawned. 

"Yeah, well, there's a change in plans. It's our problem now too," Harvey told them, "Our sectors are now joined in the mission." 

A flurry of complaints swept through the group, but Trixie's eyes lit up knowingly, and Phoenica practically shone with how widely she was grinning. "That's Molly's sector!" she cheered, keeping her voice low. 

"At least someone's enthusiastic about this," Harvey murmured. He announced to the group, "Many of you, if not all of you, are familiar with the notorious bounty hunter Zora Salazar, member of the Bliss Ocean terrorist group. Correct?" 

The other operatives nodded. "What does that have to do with this?" paddy asked, his voice squeaking with discomfort. 

"Well, she and Father have teamed up." 

The room went dead quiet. Harvey had never seen his sector sitting so still. It unnerved him. All eyes were on him, and for once he felt like his team actually looked to him as a leader. He hadn't expected this kind of plea for guidance to be so terrifying, or so humblingly gratifying. 

He cleared his throat. "As of now, my sis is head of this mission, and will be coming up with plans, with the help of numbuh 60 himself! Right now, our goal is to buy them as much time as we can, and gather information on Father's plan. So, do we totally got this or what, guys?" He hoped they couldn't tell that he was feigning determination, and deep down he was just as frightened as them, and in fact, maybe more so, because everyone looked to him to know what to do, but who did he have to look up to? 

He wasn't sure what he expected in reply to his rally, but it wasn't for the utter silence to continue to stretch on. "Um, that's all, you can go to bed now," he muttered. There was no chatter as they all returned to their rooms to sleep. 

What kind of leader was he if he couldn't even cheer up his team? What kind of leader was he if he felt so afraid? He buried his head in his hands and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the tears fighting to be shed. 

* * *

Molly's eyes flickered open once again. The custom-colored green Rainbow Monkey alarm clock next to Kuki's bed read 2:28. Molly exhaled roughly, and turned over onto her side. She had already fallen asleep five times that night, and couldn't stay asleep. Her head was full of so many things. The fire that had been flung at her earlier that day, the scary cowgirl lady with the time epithet who wanted to kill them all, and having to choose between her old friends and her new friends (even if that's not what was really happening it sure felt like it), it was all weighing on her, making it impossible to relax. 

If she weren't so tired, she would have jumped when Kuki's voice cut through the silence. "Molly? Are you still awake too?" she whispered. 

"Yeah," Molly replied, rolling back over to face Kuki. 

"I can't get to sleep. I'm scared," Kuki admitted. 

Molly nodded, "Me too." 

"I keep having nightmares," Kuki peeped. 

"Aw, want to talk about it?" 

Kuki contemplated the idea, and then started, "We're all in the delightful mansion, and Zora is there with her guns. She shoots one of us, and because I'm the medic, I have to help. I know what to do, but despite my best efforts…" She trailed off, a bitter frown on her face. "Every time I go back to sleep, it just happens again." 

"Oh, that's awful," Molly cooed, pulling Kuki up to her. Kuki cuddled close to her. Molly patted her on the shoulder. "You're a great medic, numbuh 3," Molly reassured her, "Regardless of your nightmares, I think that you could get us out of any sticky situation." 

Despite how down she felt, Kuki couldn't help but giggle. "Thanks Molly." 

"Don't mention it." 

"So what's bothering you?" 

"I'm just a little stressed out, and I can't seem to stay asleep," Molly explained. 

"What's got you feeling all stressed?" Kuki asked. 

"Everything," Molly sighed. She thought about it, the thoughts tumbling around, fire, Zora, friends, fire, Zora, friends. "What stresses me the most is that I feel like I have to choose between you guys and my old friends. I don't even know who I'd choose…" 

"I promise you that you don't have to choose. Sure, we have our differences, our many, many differences, but I don't think anyone would make you stop being friends with Sylvie and Giovanni. Especially with how important they both appear to be for you," Kuki hummed. 

Molly smiled. "I hope so. Thanks numbuh 3." 

"You're welcome," Kuki breathed, her statement fading away as she fell back asleep. Molly closed her eyes and joined Kuki in slumber, not feeling as stressed as before. 

When Molly woke that morning, jostled by the alarm clock playing the Rainbow Monkeys theme song, she still felt dead tired. If the way Kuki didn't even stir as the alarm clock sang, Molly had to guess that Kuki was also just as exhausted. Molly pounded down on the alarm clock to get it to stop beeping, then gave Kuki a small shake. 

"Numbuh 3… Numbuh 3, wake up, we've got stuff to do today," Molly quietly muttered to her sleeping friend. 

"Mm?" Kuki hummed, blinking her eyes open, her expression blank. For a moment, she looked lost, like she couldn't figure out where she was. Then, she processed that she was awake and bolted upwards into a seated position, her signature smile plastered on her face. Kuki went from slumber to wide awake so quickly that Molly jumped. 

"Good morning Molly!" 

"Good morning- uh- aw geez-" Molly stuttered, as realization crossed her face, her cheeks darkening, "I don't know your name. Like, your real name." 

Kuki grinned, "I'm Kuki! We're on a first name basis now! Hooray!" 

"Good morning, Kuki," Molly greeted, laughing at the gleefulness of Kuki's exclamation. Molly decided at that moment that Kuki was the person she'd go to if she ever needed to smile, because Kuki's happiness was contagious. 

"Are you ready to go on more missions today?" Kuki wondered. 

With a chuckle, Molly rubbed her sleepy eyes. "Honestly? No. I'm really, really tired. I'm ready to go back to sleep. But I'm needed somewhere, so that's where I'll be." 

"That's what being in the Kids Next Door is all about," Kuki nodded. She hopped out of bed, and extended her hand to Molly. Molly took it, and Kuki pulled her out of bed with too much force for the early morning, which almost resulted in Molly flopping straight onto the floor. Luckily, she regained her balance, and followed Kuki into the kitchen for breakfast. 

Abby was already in the kitchen eating toast and reading the latest _Candy International_ magazine when they arrived. "G'morning," she grunted to them. 

"Good morning, numbuh 5!" Kuki chirped. Molly flashed Abby a tired smile. 

"Whatcha want for breakfast, Molly?" Kuki asked. 

Molly answered, "Rainbow Munchies, please." 

Kuki passed Molly the cereal box, and Molly thanked her while pouring herself a bowl of Rainbow Munchies. They sat down at the table next to each other, across from Abby. 

Just as Molly began to dig into her cereal, Hoagie entered the room. He looked bad, with dark circles under his eyes and his hair sticking up wildly. Molly blinked at the sight of him. She had never seen him without his aviator's hat on before. 

While Hoagie was preparing himself breakfast, Nigel stumbled in, clearly having not slept that night. He scanned the room, looking at all five of his fellow operatives. "It appears that no one was about to sleep last night." 

"Wally's not here yet," Kuki pointed out, her mouth full, "Maybe he slept good." 

"Wally's still asleep," Nigel sighed, "And I know he hasn't slept that much. I could hear him pacing all night long. Pacing and punching things, that's all he does when he can't sleep." 

"Oh," Kuki muttered, looking down at her food in dismay. 

Molly made a mental note that Wally was numbuh 4's name. At least, she was assuming it was, and she hoped to high heaven she wasn't wrong somehow and embarrassed herself. Hoagie sat across from Molly with a bowl of oatmeal with raspberries resting on the top. Nigel joined in at the short end of the rectangular table, with Hoagie and Molly on either side of him. 

"So, things got pretty intense yesterday, huh?" Nigel tried to muster up a conversation, "Sorry you had to go through all that on your first mission, numbuh 7." 

"It's alright," Molly mumbled, "I'm being prepared for future missions this way." 

"I'm glad you're thinking of it like that," Nigel smiled. 

Hoagie pointed out quietly, "You know, every time we get a new recruit, something absolutely crazy happens." 

"Yeah," Kuki agreed, "Like what happened to poor Bradley. I'm glad he's okay now!" 

"Or when Tommy joined us," Hoagie reminded them, "Remember that fiasco?" 

Molly peeped, "Father mentioned that yesterday. You said that Tommy was a hero. Who's Tommy? What happened to him, exactly." 

"Tommy's my little brother," Hoagie explained, "He joined the organization as… Uhg, as the numbuh T." 

"Like the variable?" Molly guessed. 

"A what?" Kuki asked. 

Hoagie ignored the statement and the question, and continued on with the story. "Right after his graduation from the cadets next door, Father launched a plot to turn every member of the Kids Next Door organization into animals. Tommy saved us all, but he had to sacrifice his role as an operative to do so." 

There was a somber silence of the room, which was broken by Abby, who added, "He now acts as a solo hero protecting kids. They call him-" she stifled a snicker "-They call him The Tommy." She tried to hide another laugh, doing a worse job the second time. 

"The Tommy helps us frequently," Hoagie finished, "He also helps sector W often, because he was in cadet training with numbuhs 83 and 84." 

"It sounds like all the hardship turns out okay in the end," Molly remarked. 

Her teammates nodded. "Speaking of sector W," Nigel announced to the table, "Numbuh 362 has informed me that our current mission is too much for one sector, and we'll be teamed up with sector W for the time being, as they are our sister sector." 

Hoagie, Abby, and Kuki groaned. "Is Harvey going to be there?" Abby whined. 

"Yeah, as much as I like 83 and 84, and as fun as talking to 85 about 2x4 tech is, Harvey makes it all not worth it," Hoagie complained. 

Molly, however, was nowhere near being glum like her teammates. "Phoenica and Trixie!" She squealed, beaming. 

Nigel continued, "Our mission is a lot more indirect now, too." 

"So we're not trying to destroy everything anymore?" Hoagie inquired. 

"Exactly," Nigel answered. 

Kuki hummed, "Wally's not gonna like this." 

"Speakin' of Wally, someone probably better wake that boy up," Abby suggested. 

Kuki's hand shot up into the air. "I'll do it!" she volunteered. She skipped out of the kitchen and down the hall. Everyone in the kitchen could hear her yelling way too loud, "Hi Wally! Wake up!" followed by Wally's frightened yelp as he woke up. Everyone listening in laughed. 

Kuki walked back into the kitchen, leading Wally in holding his hand. "Why'd you have to wake me up like that?" Wally muttered, his cheeks tinged pink. 

"It's morning!" Kuki explained. 

"Eck. Whatever," Wally groaned. 

"Also our mission is a lot less punchy and a lot more stealthy now," Kuki told him. 

"Aw!" Wally grumbled, "But there wasn't a lot of punching to begin with!" 

Nigel sighed in slight frustration at his team's lack of interest in the new mission. "Listen, team, finish up breakfast because soon we're going to meet up with Sector W and make a plan for the time being." 

After that, the kitchen was devoid of talking. They finished their meals one by one. Then, they all followed Hoagie to his hangar and boarded the J.E.E.P.E.R. The flight was short compared to the other ones Molly had been only, and she felt that she had barely just sat in her seat when she was up again. 

They gathered outside of a tree house much like their own, where Sector W was also gathered. Nigel approached Harvey, and the two leaders stared at each other, and then nodded once. Trixie and Phoenica immediately ran to hug Molly, and all three giggled as they did so. "I've missed you guys!" Molly cheered. 

"We missed you too!" Trixie and Phoenica cooed at the same time. 

Hoagie and Paddy seemed to be engaged in a conversation about 2x4 technology. Abby and Lee were chatting while beside them Kuki and Sonia were laughing about something. Wally wandered up to where Trixie, Phoenica, and Molly were standing. "Hey Trixie," he greeted. 

"Oh hi numbuh 4!" Trixie grinned, "It's great to see you again!" 

"Yeah! You too." 

"C'mon people! We didn't come here to socialize!" Harvey barked. 

"Uhg, but you just got here!" Trixie complained quietly enough that Harvey wouldn't hear. 

"I know right?" Wally whispered back. 

"First of all, what are the priorities of this mission?" Nigel asked his team, pulling out a notepad, "What do you guys feel is impertinent to success?" 

"2x4 tech!" Paddy and Hoagie both cried. 

"Discovering what gives us a tactical advantage and using it," Lee suggested. 

"Being super stealthy," Abby added. 

Wally argued "Well _I_ think that we should just run in and start attacking everyone!" Everyone ignored the suggestion. 

"We need to make sure that we have enough medical equipment handy," Kuki told him. 

"Excellent points, everyone," Nigel praised, writing down a list in the notepad. His eyes darted to Wally, and he muttered, "Well, almost everyone." 

"It'd be best to send in a small team to spy on the project right now. See just what we're dealing with, since it seems that this mission was grossly underestimated at first," Harvey announced. 

Nigel nodded, "You know, I think that's a well thought out plan, numbuh 363." 

"Of course it is," Harvey bragged, "I came up with it." 

"We're going to need our stealthiest team members," Nigel told them, "And bringing a medic is mandatory for any field work right now." 

"Numbuh 84 is the stealthiest member of our sector," Harvey informed him, "And numbuh 83 is best at patching people up, although she isn't specialized." 

"Our stealthiest member is numbuh 5, and our medic is numbuh 3," Nigel added. 

"Sounds good to me," Harvey agreed. 

"Hold on," Molly peeped, "I volunteer." 

Nigel looked up at her in surprise. "Are you sure numbuh 7? Things might get fiery." 

Molly shook her head. "My epithet makes things quiet, remember? I can cast a silence bubble around the group so no one will be able to hear us." 

"Wow! That's so powerful!" Harvey gasped. 

Nigel nodded slowly. "Yes, that would be useful. Very well. If you feel comfortable going on the mission, then I'll allow it." 

"Thank you," Molly squeaked. 

"Numbuh 5, you'll lead them," Nigel told her. 

"Alright," Abby replied. 

"What? No, someone from my sector should be the leader," Harvey complained, "Numbuh 84, you do it!" 

"Numbuh 363, you're being ridiculous," Nigel growled, "It doesn't matter whose sector is leading." 

"Yes it does!" Harvey argued. 

"Well it doesn't matter," Lee butted in, "I want numbuh 5 to be leader." 

"Why?" Harvey complained. 

"Because I've known numbuh 5 for a while now, and I know her leadership skills surpass my own," Lee explained, his face stern. 

Harvey looked like he was going to throw a tantrum for a moment, but then he took a deep breath. "Fine. Fine. Go ahead." 

Nigel sighed. "That's settled, then." 

"What should the rest of us do?" Hoagie wondered. 

"You and 85 should work on new 2x4 tech," Harvey advised. 

Nigel added, "The rest of us are going to do some research on Bliss Ocean and Zora Salazar." 

"What?" Wally complained, "But I'm awful at cruddy research! And it's boring." 

"Don't worry, we'll help you," Trixie offered, "I'm not much of one for research either, but Feenie-" 

Phoenica interrupted, "This is going to be so much fun!" 

"I appreciate the enthusiasm, numbuh 2k!" Harvey cheered. 

Nigel turned to Harvey, shocked. "I don't think I've ever seen you supportive of your team." 

"No one has ever really listened this well before," Harvey pointed out. 

While the other operatives filed into Sector W's tree house, the operatives on the stealth mission stayed behind. "Okay, everybody get into the J.E.E.P.E.R.," Abby yelled, "I'll be piloting." 

They all followed her command. Molly and Kuki took the seats that they were designated when flying as a team. Lee chose Wally's usual seat, and Sonia rode shotgun. The flight was tense and silent. The only sound within the J.E.E.P.E.R. was Lee occasionally flicking his yo-yo down nervously. 

It seemed like no time had even passed when Abby parked the J.E.E.P.E.R. in a ditch out of the sight of the mansion. All they had to do now was climb up the hill, and they'd be in the Delightful Mansion. Molly felt her stomach tie itself into knots, thinking about the silhouetted man, and the fire he could start with ease. He didn't even have an epithet, and the knowledge only seemed to make the grip of anxiety around her squeeze tighter. She didn't have many M.A.R.B.L.E.S. this time, either, because they weren't a very stealthy weapon, which only added to her worry, though some of her concern was subsided with a S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. given to her by Abby to compensate. 

With a hand signal, the group began to follow Abby. She guided them up the hill, easily keeping them from being spotted without saying a word. Molly was impressed, although she knew that she should probably have expected as much from her friend by now. It actually made Molly feel safer, having Abby lead them through the mission, with Lee and Sonia to her left, armed with yo-yos and a gum gun respectively, and Kuki to her right, with a full stocked first aid kit and a T.H.U.M.P.E.R. 

They reached the side of the mansion undetected. Abby gestured to Molly, then motioned a circle with her hands. _Bubble?_ Molly nodded, and outstretched her hands. Focusing on her friends and herself, a surge of energy rushed through Molly, and a translucent, green bubble that only she could see surrounded the group. 

Molly whispered, "No one can hear us now. You just have to stay in the bubble." 

The others looked around. "What bubble?" Lee asked. 

"You can't see it," Molly explained apologetically, "If I could change that, I would. For now, just listen to what I say. I won't let you leave the bubble." 

"It's time to go in," Abby told her team. 

The others gave her a nod. 

"Is this window within the bubble?" Abby asked Molly, pointing to a window with an empty room on the other side. 

"Yes," Molly answered. 

Abby opened the window, and they each slipped inside. 

Now the mission had really started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter feels a little bit like filler, but I thought it was nessissary. There's going to be some action in the next chapter to make up for it.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic makes me so happy to write! I hope everyone else enjoys it too!!! ^^


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